Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.32 EPS

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The shipping company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.32, Zacks reports. Navigator had a net margin of 22.80% and a return on equity of 10.50%. The firm had revenue of $167.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $139.46 million.

Navigator Stock Performance

Navigator stock traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $20.98. The company had a trading volume of 160,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 418,432. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.67, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a 50 day moving average of $21.28 and a 200-day moving average of $20.59. Navigator has a 52 week low of $14.08 and a 52 week high of $24.36.

Navigator Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Michael Schroder sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were 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 approximately $118,150. This represents a 83.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Oeyvind Lindeman sold 6,259 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.70, for a total transaction of $135,820.30. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navigator

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in Navigator in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,984 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in Navigator in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Navigator in the second quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Navigator by 21,406.2% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 3,441 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 3,425 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).