Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts generally favor Navigator Holdings: Six analysts assign the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with five buys and one hold. The average 12-month price target is $23.33, above the reported $20.99 opening price.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations: Navigator reported earnings of $0.85 per share versus the $0.53 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $167.94 million compared with expectations of $139.46 million.
• The company declared a dividend and saw insider selling: Navigator announced a quarterly dividend of $0.07 per share, equivalent to a 1.3% annual yield. Insiders sold 36,259 shares worth approximately $828,000 over the past three months.

Shares of Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $23.3333.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Navigator from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup raised their price target on Navigator from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Navigator from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Navigator from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th.

Navigator Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NVGS opened at $20.99 on Friday. Navigator has a fifty-two week low of $14.08 and a fifty-two week high of $24.36. The company has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of 9.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $21.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.71.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $167.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $139.46 million. Navigator had a return on equity of 10.45% and a net margin of 22.80%. As a group, analysts forecast that Navigator will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Navigator Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Navigator's payout ratio is presently 12.90%.

Insider Activity at Navigator

In other Navigator news, COO Michael Schroder sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $118,150. This trade represents a 83.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter George Charles An Stokes sold 5,000 shares of Navigator stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total transaction of $101,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $140,134.80. This trade represents a 41.98% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 36,259 shares of company stock worth $827,970. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Navigator

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Manhattan CO. LLC. boosted its holdings in Navigator by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 1,430,009 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $24,768,000 after acquiring an additional 311,259 shares during the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Navigator by 62.7% during the first quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,034,216 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $19,991,000 after acquiring an additional 398,615 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Navigator by 19.6% during the first quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 661,790 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $12,792,000 after acquiring an additional 108,467 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Navigator by 16.4% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 542,756 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $7,224,000 after acquiring an additional 76,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Navigator by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 507,779 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $8,795,000 after purchasing an additional 114,532 shares during the period. 18.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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