Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) Given Average Rating of "Buy" by Brokerages

Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the five research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $21.60.

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Navigator from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th.

Navigator Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Navigator stock traded up $0.09 on Tuesday, hitting $15.83. 144,752 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 372,049. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $14.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Navigator has a 12-month low of $10.55 and a 12-month high of $17.52. The company has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 0.78.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The shipping company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.06. Navigator had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The business had revenue of $151.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $128.26 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Navigator will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Navigator Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. Navigator's dividend payout ratio is 15.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NVGS. First Manhattan CO. LLC. boosted its position in shares of Navigator by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 1,034,596 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $15,881,000 after purchasing an additional 207,851 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in shares of Navigator by 1.0% during the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,010,684 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $13,452,000 after purchasing an additional 9,570 shares in the last quarter. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Navigator by 266.4% during the fourth quarter. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP now owns 682,516 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $10,477,000 after purchasing an additional 496,220 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 76,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Navigator by 1.3% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 528,391 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $7,033,000 after purchasing an additional 6,550 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 18.95% of the company's stock.

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.