Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $23.29 and last traded at $22.9750, with a volume of 19647 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on NVGS. Zacks Research cut shares of Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Navigator from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Navigator in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Navigator currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.50.

Navigator Trading Down 0.1%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.59.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The shipping company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.16. Navigator had a net margin of 18.84% and a return on equity of 7.01%. The firm had revenue of $140.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $139.35 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Navigator Holdings Ltd. will post 1.56 EPS for the current year.

Navigator Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be paid a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Navigator’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navigator

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NVGS. Geode Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Navigator in the second quarter worth $5,677,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Navigator during the third quarter worth $6,091,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Navigator during the second quarter worth $4,773,000. First Manhattan CO. LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Navigator by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 1,430,009 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $24,768,000 after acquiring an additional 311,259 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Navigator during the fourth quarter worth $3,108,000. 18.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).