Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Sunday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Pareto Securities began coverage on shares of Navigator in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Navigator in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.50.

Navigator Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVGS opened at $18.50 on Friday. Navigator has a one year low of $10.55 and a one year high of $21.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.06 and a 200-day moving average of $17.51. The company has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 11th. The shipping company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $152.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $136.15 million. Navigator had a return on equity of 6.35% and a net margin of 17.06%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Navigator will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Navigator Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 23rd. Navigator’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Navigator in the third quarter valued at approximately $597,000. Teton Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Navigator during the third quarter worth $1,320,000. Estabrook Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Navigator by 13.7% during the second quarter. Estabrook Capital Management now owns 149,658 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,118,000 after acquiring an additional 18,090 shares during the period. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Navigator by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,437,201 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $20,336,000 after acquiring an additional 99,326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Navigator in the 2nd quarter valued at $399,000. 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).