Acadian Asset Management LLC Buys 644,011 Shares of Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS)

Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) by 145.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,086,016 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 644,011 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned approximately 1.48% of Navigator worth $16,641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NVGS. CWM LLC purchased a new stake in Navigator in the fourth quarter worth approximately $54,000. Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Navigator during the 4th quarter valued at $221,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Navigator during the 4th quarter valued at $319,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Navigator in the 4th quarter worth $383,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in Navigator in the fourth quarter worth $437,000. 18.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st.

Navigator Trading Down 0.4 %

NVGS stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $16.92. The company had a trading volume of 114,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 240,905. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Navigator Holdings Ltd. has a 52 week low of $12.80 and a 52 week high of $18.18. The stock has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $16.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.95.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 15th. The shipping company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The business had revenue of $119.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.51 million. Navigator had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 6.86%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Navigator Holdings Ltd. will post 1.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Navigator Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 4th were paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Navigator’s payout ratio is presently 17.09%.

About Navigator

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.