Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the five analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.60.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Navigator in a research report on Wednesday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navigator

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NVGS. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Navigator by 266.4% in the 4th quarter. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP now owns 682,516 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,477,000 after purchasing an additional 496,220 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC. lifted its position in Navigator by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 1,034,596 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $15,881,000 after buying an additional 207,851 shares during the period. 683 Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Navigator during the 4th quarter valued at $2,916,000. Harvey Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Navigator during the 4th quarter valued at $2,504,000. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Navigator by 24.8% in the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 686,148 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,532,000 after buying an additional 136,160 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 18.95% of the company’s stock.

Navigator Price Performance

Shares of Navigator stock traded up $0.09 on Wednesday, hitting $13.88. 294,500 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 212,356. Navigator has a 12-month low of $13.55 and a 12-month high of $18.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.28 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.91.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 12th. The shipping company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Navigator had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 14.48%. Analysts expect that Navigator will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Navigator

Navigator Holdings Ltd. engages in owning and operating a fleet of liquefied gas carriers worldwide. It provides international and regional seaborne transportation services of petrochemical gases, liquefied petroleum gases, and ammonia for energy companies, industrial users, and commodity traders. The company also offers ship shore infrastructure and consultancy services.