Analysts Set Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) Price Target at $21.60

Shares of Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) have earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the five ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.60.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Navigator in a research report on Wednesday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navigator

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVGS. Wexford Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Navigator by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. Wexford Capital LP now owns 85,425 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,311,000 after purchasing an additional 22,857 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its position in Navigator by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 34,143 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 6,244 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc lifted its stake in Navigator by 159.9% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 203,441 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,123,000 after acquiring an additional 125,178 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in Navigator during the 4th quarter worth approximately $554,000. Finally, First Manhattan CO. LLC. grew its stake in shares of Navigator by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 1,034,596 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $15,881,000 after acquiring an additional 207,851 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 18.95% of the company’s stock.

Navigator Price Performance

NVGS opened at $13.68 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $15.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 1.39. Navigator has a 52 week low of $13.47 and a 52 week high of $18.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 12th. The shipping company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $144.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $120.87 million. Navigator had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 14.48%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Navigator will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Navigator Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, March 24th will be given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 24th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. Navigator’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.67%.

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.