Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) COO Sells $590,750.00 in Stock

Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) COO Michael Schroder sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $118,150. This trade represents 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 this link.

Navigator Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:NVGS opened at $23.10 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $20.78 and its 200 day moving average is $19.18. Navigator Holdings Ltd. has a 12-month low of $13.50 and a 12-month high of $24.36. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.17, a PEG ratio of 0.98 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 (NYSE:NVGS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The shipping company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $140.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $139.35 million. Navigator had a return on equity of 7.01% and a net margin of 18.84%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Navigator Holdings Ltd. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Navigator Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NVGS shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Navigator from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 15th. Zacks Research downgraded Navigator from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered Navigator from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Navigator from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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).