Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the five research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $21.60.

Several research firms have recently commented on NVGS. Alliance Global Partners began coverage on shares of Navigator in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Navigator in a research report on Friday, November 22nd.

Navigator Stock Performance

Shares of NVGS stock opened at $16.71 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $15.76 and a 200 day moving average of $16.07. Navigator has a 52 week low of $14.55 and a 52 week high of $18.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Navigator Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th were given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Navigator’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVGS. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its holdings in shares of Navigator by 28.4% during the second quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 37,515 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $655,000 after acquiring an additional 8,309 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Navigator by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 787,700 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $13,753,000 after purchasing an additional 107,300 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Navigator by 3.8% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 560,038 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,778,000 after buying an additional 20,500 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Navigator in the second quarter worth approximately $279,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Navigator by 108.6% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 70,256 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,227,000 after buying an additional 36,571 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 18.95% of the company’s stock.

Navigator Company Profile

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.