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 ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.60.

NVGS has been the subject of several analyst reports. DNB Markets initiated coverage on shares of Navigator in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Alliance Global Partners initiated coverage on Navigator in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target 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 reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set 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 $14.93 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $15.68 and a 200-day moving average of $16.17. Navigator has a one year low of $14.47 and a one year high of $18.18. The company has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 1.47.

Navigator Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Navigator’s payout ratio is 17.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navigator

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Navigator during the second quarter worth about $23,571,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Navigator by 32.8% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,442,150 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $25,146,000 after buying an additional 356,134 shares in the last quarter. Graham Capital Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Navigator in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,444,000. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Navigator in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,994,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Navigator by 361.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 207,039 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,615,000 after buying an additional 162,160 shares during the period. 18.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.