Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) Short Interest Update

Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 149,800 shares, a drop of 23.5% from the December 31st total of 195,700 shares. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 175,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navigator

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Navigator by 9.1% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,221 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Navigator by 61.0% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,383 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Navigator by 10.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 19,640 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 1,895 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Navigator during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Navigator by 3.5% during the third quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 63,900 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 2,152 shares during the last quarter. 18.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVGS has been the topic of several research reports. Alliance Global Partners began coverage on Navigator in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Navigator in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Navigator from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $21.60.

Navigator Stock Performance

NYSE NVGS traded down $0.04 on Monday, reaching $16.58. 167,549 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 229,392. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Navigator has a one year low of $14.55 and a one year high of $18.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.69 and a beta of 1.45. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $15.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.99.

Navigator Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. Navigator's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.70%.

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.