Brokerages Set Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) Price Target at $21.50

Shares of Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $21.50.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on NVGS shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Navigator from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 15th. Pareto Securities assumed coverage on Navigator in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Zacks Research lowered Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Navigator in a research note on Monday, December 29th.

Navigator Trading Down 5.5%

NVGS opened at $18.12 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $19.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.56. Navigator has a 12-month low of $10.55 and a 12-month high of $21.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The shipping company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.07). Navigator had a return on equity of 6.35% and a net margin of 17.06%.The firm had revenue of $152.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $136.15 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Navigator will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Navigator Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 23rd will be issued a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 23rd. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Navigator’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.92%.

Institutional Trading of Navigator

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its holdings in Navigator by 1,124.1% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,677 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,540 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Navigator during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Navigator by 2,794.4% during the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,055 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,984 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Navigator during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Navigator during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. 18.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Navigator Company Profile

Navigator Holdings Ltd. is a global shipping company specializing in the seaborne transportation of liquefied gases. The company’s fleet is purpose-built to carry a range of petrochemical gases, including liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), ethylene, propylene and ammonia. Navigator’s vessels are designed to meet the stringent safety and environmental standards required for handling pressurized and refrigerated gases, offering flexible capacity to customers across the energy and chemical sectors.

Navigator operates one of the largest and most modern fleets of gas carriers in the industry, with vessels ranging from fully pressurized gas carriers to specialized very large ethane carriers (VLECs).