Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) Stock Price Crosses Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) shares crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $21.28 and traded as high as $23.23. Navigator shares last traded at $22.4470, with a volume of 284,467 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research cut Navigator from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Navigator from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.33.

Navigator Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.57, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $21.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.18.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $167.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $139.46 million. Navigator had a net margin of 22.80% and a return on equity of 10.45%. Equities research analysts forecast that Navigator Holdings Ltd. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Navigator Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Navigator’s payout ratio is presently 12.90%.

Insider Activity at Navigator

In other news, Director Peter George Charles An Stokes sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total transaction of $101,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $140,134.80. This represents a 41.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Oeyvind Lindeman sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.68, for a total value of $162,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $157,093.28. This trade represents a 50.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Navigator during the 2nd quarter worth $5,677,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Navigator by 62.7% in the 1st quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,034,216 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $19,991,000 after purchasing an additional 398,615 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Navigator in the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,091,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Navigator in the second quarter valued at about $4,773,000. Finally, First Manhattan CO. LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Navigator by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 1,430,009 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $24,768,000 after purchasing an additional 311,259 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 18.95% of the company’s stock.

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).