Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on NVGS. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Navigator from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 15th. Pareto Securities started coverage on shares of Navigator in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Navigator in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.50.

Navigator Price Performance

Shares of NVGS opened at $19.69 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $19.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.81. Navigator has a fifty-two week low of $11.22 and a fifty-two week high of $21.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of 13.30, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The shipping company reported $0.32 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $152.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $136.15 million. Equities analysts predict that Navigator will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NVGS. Geode Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Navigator during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,677,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Navigator during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $6,091,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Navigator during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,773,000. First Manhattan CO. LLC. increased its stake in Navigator by 27.8% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 1,430,009 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $24,768,000 after purchasing an additional 311,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Navigator during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,108,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 18.95% of the company’s stock.

About Navigator

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).