Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $23.3333.

NVGS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Navigator from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings raised Navigator from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Navigator from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th.

Navigator Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE NVGS opened at $20.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.67, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.71. Navigator has a one year low of $14.08 and a one year high of $24.36. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $21.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.70.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.32. Navigator had a net margin of 22.80% and a return on equity of 10.45%. The company had revenue of $167.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $139.46 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Navigator will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Navigator Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Navigator’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.90%.

Insider Activity at Navigator

In other Navigator news, Director Peter George Charles An Stokes sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total value of $101,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,910 shares in the company, valued at $140,134.80. This represents a 41.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Oeyvind Lindeman sold 6,259 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.70, for a total transaction of $135,820.30. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 36,259 shares of company stock worth $827,970. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

About Navigator

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).