Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) COO Michael Schroder Sells 25,000 Shares of Stock

Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) COO Michael Schroder sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.63, for a total value of $590,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $118,150. The trade was a 83.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Navigator Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:NVGS opened at $23.10 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $20.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.16. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.17, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Navigator Holdings Ltd. has a 52-week low of $13.50 and a 52-week high of $24.36.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The shipping company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $140.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $139.35 million. Navigator had a return on equity of 7.01% and a net margin of 18.84%. Equities analysts predict that Navigator Holdings Ltd. will post 1.98 EPS for the current year.

Navigator Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. Navigator’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Navigator from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 15th. Zacks Research downgraded Navigator from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Navigator from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Navigator from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Navigator by 1,124.1% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,677 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,540 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in Navigator during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Navigator by 2,794.4% during the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,055 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,984 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in Navigator during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Navigator during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 18.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Navigator Company Profile

Navigator Holdings Ltd. is a global shipping company specializing in the seaborne transportation of liquefied gases. The company’s fleet is purpose-built to carry a range of petrochemical gases, including liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), ethylene, propylene and ammonia. Navigator’s vessels are designed to meet the stringent safety and environmental standards required for handling pressurized and refrigerated gases, offering flexible capacity to customers across the energy and chemical sectors.

Navigator operates one of the largest and most modern fleets of gas carriers in the industry, with vessels ranging from fully pressurized gas carriers to specialized very large ethane carriers (VLECs).