Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $21.50.

Several analysts recently weighed in on NVGS shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Navigator from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Pareto Securities initiated coverage on shares of Navigator in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Navigator in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NVGS. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,540 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in Navigator during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in 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. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Navigator in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new position in Navigator in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. 18.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Navigator Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE NVGS opened at $18.80 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $19.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 12.70, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.37. Navigator has a fifty-two week low of $10.55 and a fifty-two week high of $21.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

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

Navigator Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 23rd will be given a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 23rd. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Navigator’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.92%.

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).