Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.3333.

NVGS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded Navigator from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Navigator from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th.

Navigator Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVGS opened at $22.66 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.16. Navigator has a fifty-two week low of $14.08 and a fifty-two week high of $24.36. The company has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.71.

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

Navigator Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Oeyvind Lindeman sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.68, for a total transaction of $162,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 7,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $157,093.28. This trade represents a 50.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Peter George Charles An Stokes sold 5,000 shares of the business’s 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 owned 6,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $140,134.80. The trade was a 41.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navigator

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Navigator by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 542,756 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,224,000 after buying an additional 76,287 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Navigator by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 50,885 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $677,000 after acquiring an additional 7,777 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Navigator by 674.7% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 85,843 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,143,000 after purchasing an additional 74,762 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Navigator during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,677,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Navigator by 118.1% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 79,438 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 43,008 shares during the last quarter. 18.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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).