38,515 Shares in Navigator Holdings Ltd. $NVGS Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 38,515 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $597,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.06% of Navigator as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Navigator by 1.4% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 132,508 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,875,000 after acquiring an additional 1,892 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Navigator during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Navigator during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Navigator by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 29,272 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $414,000 after purchasing an additional 3,023 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aristides Capital LLC raised its holdings in Navigator by 21.3% in the second quarter. Aristides Capital LLC now owns 17,708 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 3,110 shares during the period. 18.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Navigator Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE NVGS opened at $19.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.10, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $18.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Navigator Holdings Ltd. has a 52-week low of $10.55 and a 52-week high of $19.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NVGS shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Navigator from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Pareto Securities initiated coverage on shares of Navigator in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Zacks Research lowered Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Navigator in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Navigator in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.50.

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).