Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) saw a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,090,887 shares, a decline of 16.8% from the November 30th total of 1,311,295 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 328,332 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 328,332 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Navigator in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Navigator during the third quarter valued at $351,000. Prelude Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Navigator by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC now owns 47,637 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $738,000 after buying an additional 3,294 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Navigator by 2,794.4% during the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,055 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in shares of Navigator by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 37,394 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $579,000 after buying an additional 1,334 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 18.95% of the company’s stock.

Navigator Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE NVGS traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $17.25. The stock had a trading volume of 80,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 345,125. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $17.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.20. Navigator has a 1 year low of $10.55 and a 1 year high of $18.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.51.

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, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. The firm had revenue of $153.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $133.84 million. Navigator had a net margin of 17.85% and a return on equity of 6.83%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Navigator will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Navigator Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 25th were issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. This is a boost from Navigator’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 25th. Navigator’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVGS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Navigator in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Navigator in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Pareto Securities began coverage on Navigator in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Navigator from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.50.

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).