State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Buys 8,309 Shares of Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its stake in Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) by 28.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,515 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 8,309 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Navigator were worth $655,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Perkins Coie Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Navigator in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $105,000. Aristides Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Navigator in the 1st quarter valued at $252,000. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. raised its holdings in Navigator by 74.7% during the 1st quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 22,449 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 9,600 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Navigator by 62.8% during the first quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 26,285 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $403,000 after buying an additional 10,142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Navigator by 13.5% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 29,884 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $459,000 after acquiring an additional 3,546 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 18.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Navigator in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Navigator from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Clarkson Capital upgraded Navigator from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Navigator in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, DNB Markets assumed coverage on Navigator in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.00.

Navigator Price Performance

NYSE:NVGS opened at $16.27 on Thursday. Navigator Holdings Ltd. has a 52 week low of $13.68 and a 52 week high of $18.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.19. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.15. The firm has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91 and a beta of 1.50.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The shipping company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $129.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.92 million. Navigator had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 7.35%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Navigator Holdings Ltd. will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Navigator Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Navigator’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.09%.

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.