Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $21.50.

Several brokerages have recently commented on NVGS. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Navigator in a report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Navigator in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Navigator from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Pareto Securities assumed coverage on shares of Navigator in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th.

Navigator Price Performance

NYSE:NVGS opened at $20.69 on Friday. Navigator has a 52-week low of $10.55 and a 52-week high of $20.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $18.33 and a 200 day moving average of $17.12. 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 capitalization of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.40.

Institutional Trading of Navigator

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

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).