Navigator Holdings Ltd. $NVGS Shares Bought by Hodges Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Hodges Capital Management increased its stake in Navigator Holdings by 31.1% in the fourth quarter, ending with 553,323 shares valued at about $9.6 million.
• Navigator has seen mixed sentiment from analysts: Citi raised its price target to $27 and maintained a buy rating, while other firms downgraded the stock to hold. The broader consensus remains Moderate Buy with a target of $23.33.
• The company reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings, with EPS of $0.50 versus $0.34 expected, and it recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.07 per share, for an annualized yield of 1.2%.

Hodges Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS - Free Report) by 31.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 553,323 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 131,351 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.80% of Navigator worth $9,584,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Navigator in the third quarter valued at $597,000. Teton Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Navigator in the third quarter valued at $1,320,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Navigator by 165.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 210,797 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,265,000 after buying an additional 131,359 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 40,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Navigator in the fourth quarter valued at $3,108,000. 18.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Navigator from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, March 15th. Zacks Research cut shares of Navigator from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Navigator from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Navigator from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.33.

Insider Transactions at Navigator

In related news, insider Oeyvind Lindeman sold 6,259 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.70, for a total transaction of $135,820.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael Schroder sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.63, for a total transaction of $590,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $118,150. The trade was a 83.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Navigator Stock Down 0.2%

NVGS stock opened at $22.54 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Navigator Holdings Ltd. has a 52 week low of $13.90 and a 52 week high of $24.36.

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

Navigator Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Navigator's payout ratio is currently 17.18%.

Navigator Company 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).

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NVGS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.