Hodges Capital Management Inc. Sells 311,653 Shares of Navigator Holdings Ltd. $NVGS

Key Points

• Hodges Capital Management Inc. sold 311,653 shares of Navigator Holdings Ltd., reducing its stake by 45.4% and leaving it with 0.54% of the company's shares valued at approximately $4.99 million.
• Several other large investors have increased their stakes in Navigator, with Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raising its position by 284.3% during the first quarter.
• The company reported an EPS of $0.14, missing the consensus estimate by $0.22, while also announcing a dividend of $0.05 per share to be paid on September 17th.

Hodges Capital Management Inc. cut its position in Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS - Free Report) by 45.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 374,495 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 311,653 shares during the quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. owned 0.54% of Navigator worth $4,985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NVGS. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its position in Navigator by 284.3% in the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 206,108 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $2,743,000 after purchasing an additional 152,470 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc raised its position in Navigator by 159.9% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 203,441 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,123,000 after purchasing an additional 125,178 shares during the last quarter. Harvey Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Navigator by 64.4% in the first quarter. Harvey Capital Management Inc. now owns 268,100 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,568,000 after purchasing an additional 105,000 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Navigator by 49.4% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 317,095 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $4,221,000 after purchasing an additional 104,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SCS Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Navigator in the first quarter valued at about $1,250,000. 18.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Navigator Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE NVGS opened at $16.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $15.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $126.73 million. Navigator had a net margin of 15.57% and a return on equity of 6.56%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Navigator Holdings Ltd. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Navigator Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 28th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 28th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Navigator's payout ratio 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.

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