Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) Stock Rated "Moderate Buy" by Sell-Side Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus on Navigator Holdings, with four buy ratings and one hold rating. The average 12-month price target is $23.00.
• Navigator reported quarterly EPS of $0.85, exceeding the $0.53 consensus estimate, while revenue of $167.94 million also topped expectations.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.07, equivalent to $0.28 annually and a 1.2% yield; institutional investors own approximately 18.95% of its shares.

Shares of Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $23.00.

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

Navigator Stock Performance

Shares of NVGS opened at $23.80 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.97, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.48. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $22.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.57. Navigator has a 1 year low of $14.08 and a 1 year high of $25.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.62.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $167.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $139.46 million. Navigator had a net margin of 22.80% and a return on equity of 10.45%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Navigator will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Navigator Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were issued a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Navigator's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.90%.

Insider Transactions at Navigator

In other Navigator news, insider Oeyvind Lindeman sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.68, for a total transaction of $162,600.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $157,093.28. This trade represents a 50.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter George Charles An Stokes sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total value of $101,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $140,134.80. The trade was a 41.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navigator

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of NVGS. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its stake in shares of Navigator by 148.3% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 47,148 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $878,000 after purchasing an additional 28,159 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in Navigator by 48.1% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 122,310 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $2,279,000 after purchasing an additional 39,720 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its position in Navigator by 30.5% during the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 30,779 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $572,000 after buying an additional 7,185 shares during the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in Navigator during the second quarter worth $268,000. Finally, BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC boosted its stake in shares of Navigator by 72.3% during the 2nd quarter. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC now owns 18,797 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 7,890 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 18.95% of the company's stock.

Navigator Company Profile

Navigator Holdings Ltd. NYSE: NVGS, operating under the Navigator Gas name, is a maritime transportation company focused on the international seaborne shipment of liquefied gases. The company owns and operates a fleet of gas carriers that transport liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), ethylene, ammonia and other petrochemical gases.

Navigator's vessels serve energy, petrochemical and industrial customers across major global trade routes. Its fleet includes ethylene-capable vessels, handysize gas carriers and larger liquefied gas carriers, allowing the company to transport cargoes between production centers, export terminals and importing markets.

In addition to its shipping operations, Navigator has invested in related midstream infrastructure.

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