Magnetar Financial LLC Increases Position in Navigator Holdings Ltd. $NVGS

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC increased its stake in Navigator Holdings Ltd. by 85.6% during the first quarter, owning approximately 0.06% of the company valued at $582,000.
• Navigator recently reported a quarterly earnings miss with $0.14 EPS, falling short of the $0.36 consensus estimate, despite generating $129.64 million in revenue.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share, scheduled for payment on September 17th, representing an annual yield of 1.2%.

Magnetar Financial LLC grew its holdings in Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS - Free Report) by 85.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,701 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,161 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC owned about 0.06% of Navigator worth $582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NVGS. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Navigator by 2.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 130,616 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,738,000 after acquiring an additional 2,911 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its position in Navigator by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 34,143 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 6,244 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC raised its position in Navigator by 9.6% during the first quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 73,649 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $980,000 after acquiring an additional 6,476 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in Navigator by 1.3% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 528,391 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $7,033,000 after acquiring an additional 6,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Navigator by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 73,478 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,128,000 after acquiring an additional 8,499 shares in the last quarter. 18.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NVGS. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Navigator from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Navigator in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $21.67.

Navigator Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVGS traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $16.61. The stock had a trading volume of 314,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 298,316. The company has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.43. Navigator Holdings Ltd. has a 1 year low of $10.55 and a 1 year high of $17.52. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The shipping company reported $0.14 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $126.73 million. Navigator had a net margin of 15.57% and a return on equity of 6.56%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Navigator Holdings Ltd. will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Navigator Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 28th. Navigator's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.75%.

Navigator 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.