Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) has earned an average rating 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 brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $21.60.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Navigator in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th.

Navigator Stock Performance

NYSE:NVGS opened at $13.68 on Wednesday. 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 $13.47 and a 52-week high of $18.18. The firm has a market cap of $1.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 1.39. The business’s fifty day moving average is $15.96 and its 200 day moving average is $15.86.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 12th. The shipping company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $144.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.87 million. Navigator had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 14.48%. Research analysts predict that Navigator will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Navigator Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 24th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 24th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Navigator’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navigator

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. First Manhattan CO. LLC. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 207,851 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its position in shares of Navigator by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,001,114 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $15,367,000 after purchasing an additional 102,711 shares during the last quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Navigator by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 852,608 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $13,088,000 after purchasing an additional 57,966 shares during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Navigator by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 686,148 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,532,000 after acquiring an additional 136,160 shares during the period. Finally, First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP boosted its holdings 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 during the period. 18.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.