Magnetar Financial LLC Makes New $361,000 Investment in Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS)

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 23,540 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $361,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Navigator during the third quarter worth $2,994,000. Harvey Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Navigator in the fourth quarter worth about $2,504,000. Hodges Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Navigator by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 686,148 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $10,532,000 after acquiring an additional 136,160 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in Navigator by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,001,114 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $15,367,000 after purchasing an additional 102,711 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in Navigator by 108.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 178,600 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $2,870,000 after acquiring an additional 92,999 shares in the last quarter. 18.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Navigator in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.60.

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Navigator Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE NVGS traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $13.37. 376,999 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 201,244. Navigator Holdings Ltd. has a twelve month low of $13.30 and a twelve month high of $18.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $978.11 million, a P/E ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 12th. The shipping company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $144.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $120.87 million. Navigator had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 7.40%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Navigator Holdings Ltd. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Navigator Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, March 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 24th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Navigator's payout ratio is 16.67%.

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.