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

Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.50.

Several brokerages have weighed in on NVGS. Zacks Research cut shares of Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Pareto Securities began coverage on Navigator in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Navigator in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Navigator in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Navigator from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th.

Navigator Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:NVGS opened at $20.20 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $18.11 and its 200-day moving average is $17.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.18. Navigator has a 52 week low of $10.55 and a 52 week high of $20.22. The company has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navigator

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of NVGS. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Navigator by 7.4% during the second quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,437,201 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $20,336,000 after purchasing an additional 99,326 shares during the last quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. lifted its holdings in Navigator by 27.8% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 1,430,009 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $24,768,000 after buying an additional 311,259 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Navigator by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 697,119 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,798,000 after buying an additional 7,574 shares during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Navigator by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 553,323 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $9,584,000 after buying an additional 131,351 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Navigator by 16.4% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 542,756 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,224,000 after acquiring an additional 76,287 shares during the last quarter. 18.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).