New York State Common Retirement Fund Reduces Position in Navigator Holdings Ltd. $NVGS

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in shares of Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) by 41.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,266 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 39,426 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.08% of Navigator worth $872,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NVGS. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Navigator by 7.4% during the second quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,437,201 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $20,336,000 after purchasing an additional 99,326 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Navigator by 2.1% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 689,545 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,757,000 after buying an additional 14,100 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Navigator by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 542,756 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,224,000 after buying an additional 76,287 shares in the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Navigator by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 421,886 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,970,000 after buying an additional 47,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Navigator during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,677,000. 18.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Navigator Price Performance

NVGS stock opened at $18.66 on Wednesday. Navigator Holdings Ltd. has a one year low of $10.55 and a one year high of $18.83. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $17.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of 12.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Navigator from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Navigator in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Pareto Securities assumed coverage on shares of Navigator in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Navigator in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.50.

Navigator 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).