SG Americas Securities LLC Buys 50,153 Shares of Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS)

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS - Free Report) by 581.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,781 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 50,153 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Navigator worth $782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wexford Capital LP raised its holdings in Navigator by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. Wexford Capital LP now owns 85,425 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,311,000 after acquiring an additional 22,857 shares during the period. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in Navigator by 22.4% during the 4th 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 during the period. Man Group plc raised its holdings in Navigator by 159.9% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 203,441 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,123,000 after acquiring an additional 125,178 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new stake in Navigator during the 4th quarter valued at $554,000. Finally, First Manhattan CO. LLC. raised its holdings in Navigator by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 1,034,596 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $15,881,000 after acquiring an additional 207,851 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 18.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NVGS shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Navigator in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Navigator from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.60.

Navigator Stock Down 0.9%

NVGS opened at $14.54 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $13.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.36 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Navigator Holdings Ltd. has a one year low of $10.55 and a one year high of $18.18.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The shipping company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $151.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $128.26 million. Navigator had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 7.83%. Equities research analysts expect that Navigator Holdings Ltd. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Navigator Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Navigator's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.63%.

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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