Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) Stock Price Down 4.4% – Here’s Why

Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) dropped 4.4% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $20.00 and last traded at $19.86. Approximately 43,381 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 415,249 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.78.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on NVGS shares. Zacks Research upgraded Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Navigator from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Navigator from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Navigator from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $23.33.

Navigator Stock Down 5.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $21.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The shipping company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $140.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $139.35 million. Navigator had a return on equity of 7.01% and a net margin of 18.84%. As a group, research analysts expect that Navigator Holdings Ltd. will post 1.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Navigator Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Navigator’s dividend payout ratio is 17.18%.

Insider Activity at Navigator

In other Navigator news, COO Michael Schroder sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.63, for a total transaction of $590,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $118,150. This represents a 83.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Oeyvind Lindeman sold 6,259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.70, for a total value of $135,820.30. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Navigator by 165.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 210,797 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,265,000 after purchasing an additional 131,359 shares in the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Navigator by 31.1% in the fourth quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 553,323 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,584,000 after buying an additional 131,351 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Navigator in the fourth quarter worth about $3,108,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its holdings in Navigator by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 455,500 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,889,000 after buying an additional 40,500 shares during the period. Finally, First Manhattan CO. LLC. lifted its holdings in Navigator by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 1,430,009 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $24,768,000 after buying an additional 311,259 shares during the period. 18.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Navigator Company Profile

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).