Short Interest in Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) Grows By 40.2%

Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 367,800 shares, an increase of 40.2% from the May 15th total of 262,400 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 356,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days.

Navigator Stock Performance

NYSE:NVGS traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $14.55. 244,028 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 237,975. Navigator has a twelve month low of $10.55 and a twelve month high of $18.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.37 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. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $13.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.60.

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

Navigator Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 29th. Navigator's payout ratio is currently 15.63%.

Institutional Trading of Navigator

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Manhattan CO. LLC. raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in Navigator by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,010,684 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $13,452,000 after acquiring an additional 9,570 shares in the last quarter. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP raised its stake in Navigator by 266.4% during the 4th quarter. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP now owns 682,516 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $10,477,000 after acquiring an additional 496,220 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Navigator by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 641,745 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $9,851,000 after acquiring an additional 46,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Navigator by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 542,756 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $7,224,000 after acquiring an additional 76,287 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 18.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on NVGS shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Navigator in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered Navigator from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.60.

About Navigator

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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