Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) has been given an average rating of “Buy” by the five ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $21.60.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NVGS shares. StockNews.com raised Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Navigator in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Alliance Global Partners began coverage on shares of Navigator in a report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock.

Institutional Trading of Navigator

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NVGS. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its position in shares of Navigator by 28.4% in the second quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 37,515 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $655,000 after buying an additional 8,309 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Navigator by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 787,700 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $13,753,000 after acquiring an additional 107,300 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Navigator by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 560,038 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $9,778,000 after acquiring an additional 20,500 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Navigator during the 2nd quarter valued at $279,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Navigator by 108.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 70,256 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,227,000 after purchasing an additional 36,571 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 18.95% of the company’s stock.

Navigator Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE:NVGS opened at $17.05 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.09. The company has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.09 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.75. Navigator has a 52-week low of $14.55 and a 52-week high of $18.18.

Navigator Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. Navigator’s payout ratio is 17.70%.

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.