Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.07 Per Share

Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th will be given a dividend of 0.07 per share by the shipping company on Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 25th. This is a 40.0% increase from Navigator’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05.

Navigator has a payout ratio of 12.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Navigator to earn $1.67 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 12.0%.

Navigator Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NVGS stock traded up $0.20 on Wednesday, reaching $16.58. 55,502 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 351,765. The company has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a 50-day moving average of $15.88 and a 200-day moving average of $15.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.53. Navigator has a one year low of $10.55 and a one year high of $17.52.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The shipping company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. The company had revenue of $153.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $133.84 million. Navigator had a net margin of 15.57% and a return on equity of 6.56%. Analysts anticipate that Navigator will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on NVGS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Navigator in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Navigator from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Navigator in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.50.

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.