Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) Director Peter George Charles An Stokes Sells 5,000 Shares

Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) Director Peter George Charles An Stokes sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total value of $101,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $140,134.80. The trade was a 41.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Navigator Stock Up 1.0%

Navigator stock traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.93. The company had a trading volume of 33,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 417,864. The business has a fifty day moving average of $21.12 and a 200 day moving average of $20.70. Navigator Holdings Ltd. has a 1 year low of $14.08 and a 1 year high of $24.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.65, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.46.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The shipping company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.32. Navigator had a net margin of 22.80% and a return on equity of 10.45%. The firm had revenue of $167.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $139.46 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Navigator Holdings Ltd. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Navigator Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Navigator’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Navigator from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Navigator from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Navigator from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.33.

Institutional Trading of Navigator

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in Navigator by 1,124.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,677 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,540 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in Navigator during the second quarter worth $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Navigator by 2,794.4% in the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,055 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,984 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Navigator in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in Navigator in the third quarter valued at $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 18.95% of the company’s stock.

About Navigator

Navigator Holdings Ltd. is a global shipping company specializing in the seaborne transportation of liquefied gases. The company’s fleet is purpose-built to carry a range of petrochemical gases, including liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), ethylene, propylene and ammonia. Navigator’s vessels are designed to meet the stringent safety and environmental standards required for handling pressurized and refrigerated gases, offering flexible capacity to customers across the energy and chemical sectors.

Navigator operates one of the largest and most modern fleets of gas carriers in the industry, with vessels ranging from fully pressurized gas carriers to specialized very large ethane carriers (VLECs).