Navigator Holdings Ltd. $NVGS Position Lowered by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC decreased its position in Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) by 12.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 532,988 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 77,100 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Navigator were worth $10,303,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Navigator in the second quarter worth $5,677,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Navigator during the third quarter valued at $6,091,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Navigator during the second quarter worth $4,773,000. First Manhattan CO. LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Navigator by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 1,430,009 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $24,768,000 after purchasing an additional 311,259 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Navigator by 109.1% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 402,079 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,772,000 after buying an additional 209,760 shares during the last quarter. 18.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Navigator Trading Down 0.2%

Navigator stock opened at $22.30 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 13.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.46. Navigator Holdings Ltd. has a 12-month low of $14.08 and a 12-month high of $24.36.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The shipping company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.16. Navigator had a return on equity of 7.01% and a net margin of 18.84%.The company had revenue of $140.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $139.35 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Navigator Holdings Ltd. will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Navigator Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. Navigator’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Michael Schroder sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 83.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Oeyvind Lindeman sold 6,259 shares of Navigator stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.70, for a total value of $135,820.30. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Navigator from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Navigator from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.33.

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).