Hodges Capital Management Inc. Boosts Position in Navigator Holdings Ltd. $NVGS

Key Points

• Hodges Capital Management increased its stake in Navigator Holdings by 19.6% in the first quarter, buying 108,467 additional shares and bringing its total to 661,790 shares worth about $12.8 million.
• Insider selling was notable, with COO Michael Schroder and insider Oeyvind Lindeman both selling shares in May, including Schroder’s 25,000-share sale that cut his ownership by 83.33%.
• Analysts remain constructive on NVGS: Citigroup raised its price target to $27 and the stock now carries an average “Buy” rating with a $23.33 target price; the company also recently beat quarterly earnings estimates.

Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS - Free Report) by 19.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 661,790 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 108,467 shares during the period. Navigator comprises approximately 1.1% of Hodges Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Hodges Capital Management Inc. owned 1.01% of Navigator worth $12,792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NVGS. First Manhattan CO. LLC. grew its stake in Navigator by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 1,430,009 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $24,768,000 after acquiring an additional 311,259 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in 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. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its position in Navigator by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 507,779 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $8,795,000 after acquiring an additional 114,532 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Navigator by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 461,641 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $7,996,000 after purchasing an additional 10,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its holdings in shares of Navigator by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 455,500 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $7,889,000 after purchasing an additional 40,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 18.95% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Navigator news, insider Oeyvind Lindeman sold 6,259 shares of Navigator stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.70, for a total value of $135,820.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Schroder sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.63, for a total transaction of $590,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $118,150. This represents a 83.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NVGS shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Navigator from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Zacks Research raised Navigator from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut Navigator from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Navigator from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $23.33.

Navigator Price Performance

Navigator stock opened at $19.12 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.46. Navigator Holdings Ltd. has a 12-month low of $14.08 and a 12-month high of $24.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm's 50-day moving average is $22.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.02.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The shipping company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.16. Navigator had a net margin of 18.84% and a return on equity of 7.01%. The business had revenue of $140.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $139.35 million. Equities analysts predict that Navigator Holdings Ltd. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Navigator Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Navigator's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.18%.

Navigator 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).

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