Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $23.94 and last traded at $23.7960, with a volume of 14795 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $23.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVGS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded Navigator from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Navigator from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 15th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Navigator from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Navigator in a report on Friday, March 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.33.

Navigator Trading Down 1.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s fifty day moving average is $20.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.03.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The shipping company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $140.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $139.35 million. Navigator had a net margin of 18.84% and a return on equity of 7.01%. Equities analysts anticipate that Navigator Holdings Ltd. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Navigator Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 1.2%. Navigator’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.18%.

Institutional Trading of Navigator

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NVGS. Geode Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Navigator in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,677,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Navigator by 62.7% during the 1st quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,034,216 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $19,991,000 after acquiring an additional 398,615 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Navigator during the 3rd quarter worth $6,091,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Navigator during the 2nd quarter worth $4,773,000. Finally, First Manhattan CO. LLC. grew its holdings 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 worth $24,768,000 after acquiring an additional 311,259 shares during the period. 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).