Acadian Asset Management LLC Sells 130,898 Shares of Navigator Holdings Ltd. $NVGS

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Navigator Holdings Ltd. by 6.6%, selling 130,898 shares to own approximately 2.69% of the company, valued at $24.8 million.
• Navigator Holdings reported a quarterly earnings miss with $0.14 EPS, falling short of analysts' expectations of $0.36, despite revenue exceeding estimates at $129.64 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share, with a scheduled payment date of September 17th and a yield of 1.2%.

Acadian Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS - Free Report) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,866,750 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 130,898 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned 2.69% of Navigator worth $24,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Navigator by 284.3% during the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 206,108 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $2,743,000 after buying an additional 152,470 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc lifted its stake in Navigator by 159.9% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 203,441 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,123,000 after buying an additional 125,178 shares in the last quarter. Harvey Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Navigator by 64.4% during the first quarter. Harvey Capital Management Inc. now owns 268,100 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,568,000 after buying an additional 105,000 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Navigator by 49.4% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 317,095 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $4,221,000 after purchasing an additional 104,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SCS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Navigator in the first quarter worth approximately $1,250,000. Institutional investors own 18.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Navigator in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Navigator presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.50.

Navigator Stock Performance

NVGS stock traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $16.51. The stock had a trading volume of 206,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 275,941. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.00 and a beta of 0.67. Navigator Holdings Ltd. has a 52 week low of $10.55 and a 52 week high of $17.52. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The shipping company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $129.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $126.73 million. Navigator had a return on equity of 6.56% and a net margin of 15.57%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Navigator Holdings Ltd. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Navigator Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 28th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Navigator's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.75%.

Navigator Company Profile

Navigator Holdings Ltd. engages in owning and operating a fleet of liquefied gas carriers worldwide. It provides international and regional seaborne transportation services of petrochemical gases, liquefied petroleum gases, and ammonia for energy companies, industrial users, and commodity traders. The company also offers ship shore infrastructure and consultancy services.