D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Sells 78,245 Shares of Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lessened its holdings in Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS - Free Report) by 73.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,458 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 78,245 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Navigator were worth $437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NVGS. Corton Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Navigator during the fourth quarter valued at about $270,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Navigator by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 80,719 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,239,000 after purchasing an additional 19,121 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Navigator by 784.1% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 44,728 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $687,000 after purchasing an additional 39,669 shares in the last quarter. 683 Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Navigator during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,916,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 8,499 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 18.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on NVGS. Wall Street Zen lowered Navigator from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Navigator in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.60.

Navigator Trading Down 1.5%

NVGS stock traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $14.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 407,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 234,199. The company has a market cap of $984.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.55 and a beta of 0.77. The business's 50 day moving average price is $13.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Navigator Holdings Ltd. has a 12 month low of $10.55 and a 12 month high of $18.18.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The shipping company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $151.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $128.26 million. Navigator had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 14.48%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Navigator Holdings Ltd. will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Navigator Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. Navigator's payout ratio is currently 15.63%.

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.