Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $18.83 and last traded at $18.6240, with a volume of 28862 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $18.42.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on NVGS shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Navigator in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered Navigator from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Pareto Securities started coverage on Navigator in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Navigator in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Navigator from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.50.

Navigator Trading Down 0.2%

The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $17.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.60.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The shipping company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.36. The firm had revenue of $153.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $133.84 million. Navigator had a return on equity of 6.83% and a net margin of 17.85%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Navigator Holdings Ltd. will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Navigator Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th were given a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 25th. This is an increase from Navigator’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. Navigator’s payout ratio is 18.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navigator

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in Navigator by 3.7% during the third quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 37,394 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 1,334 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Navigator by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 18,194 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,353 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Navigator by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 132,508 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,875,000 after purchasing an additional 1,892 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Navigator by 2,794.4% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,055 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in Navigator during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 18.95% of the company’s stock.

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).