Navigator Holdings Ltd. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.07 (NYSE:NVGS)

Key Points

• Navigator Holdings declared a quarterly dividend of $0.07 per share (annualized $0.28) payable March 31 to shareholders of record March 23, implying a yield of 1.4% (ex-dividend date March 23).
• The dividend appears well covered with a current payout ratio of 17.8% and analysts projecting $1.67 EPS next year, which would imply a future payout ratio of about 16.8%.
• Navigator reported quarterly EPS of $0.32 (missing the $0.39 consensus) while revenue beat at $152.8M; the stock has a market cap of $1.42B, a P/E of ~13.6, and a consensus "Moderate Buy" target of $21.50.

Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 23rd will be given a dividend of 0.07 per share by the shipping company on Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 23rd.

Navigator has a dividend payout ratio of 17.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Navigator to earn $1.67 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.8%.

Navigator Stock Performance

NYSE:NVGS opened at $20.49 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Navigator has a fifty-two week low of $10.55 and a fifty-two week high of $21.36. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of 13.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.37. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $18.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.45.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 11th. The shipping company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $152.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $136.15 million. Navigator had a net margin of 17.85% and a return on equity of 6.83%. Analysts expect that Navigator will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Navigator in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut Navigator from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Navigator from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Pareto Securities began coverage on shares of Navigator in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Navigator presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.50.

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).

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