Navigator Holdings Ltd. $NVGS Stock Holdings Increased by Tectonic Advisors LLC

Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) by 48.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 118,973 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 38,571 shares during the quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Navigator were worth $2,758,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Navigator by 62.7% during the first quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,034,216 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $19,991,000 after acquiring an additional 398,615 shares in the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Navigator by 19.6% in the first quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 661,790 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $12,792,000 after acquiring an additional 108,467 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Navigator by 109.1% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 402,079 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,772,000 after acquiring an additional 209,760 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Navigator by 3.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 324,935 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,281,000 after acquiring an additional 12,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1492 Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Navigator by 4.2% during the first quarter. 1492 Capital Management LLC now owns 178,024 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,441,000 after purchasing an additional 7,150 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 18.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NVGS. Weiss Ratings upgraded Navigator from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Navigator from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Peter George Charles An Stokes sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was 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 $140,134.80. This trade represents a 41.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Oeyvind Lindeman sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.68, for a total value of $162,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $157,093.28. The trade was a 50.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Navigator Stock Up 3.3%

NVGS traded up $0.69 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $21.86. 319,465 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 436,517. The stock has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.07, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.48. Navigator Holdings Ltd. has a 1-year low of $15.64 and a 1-year high of $25.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $22.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Navigator Holdings Ltd. will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Navigator Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. Navigator’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.90%.

Navigator Profile

Navigator Holdings Ltd., operating under the name Navigator Gas, is a maritime transportation company that owns and operates a fleet of specialized gas carriers. The company transports liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), petrochemical gases such as ethylene and ethane, ammonia and other liquefied gases for energy, industrial and chemical customers.

Its fleet includes semi-refrigerated and fully pressurized vessels, as well as ethylene-capable carriers designed to handle cargoes requiring specialized containment and temperature controls.