Jefferies Financial Group Reaffirms "Buy" Rating for Navigator (NYSE:NVGS)

Jefferies Financial Group reissued their buy rating on shares of Navigator (NYSE:NVGS - Free Report) in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a $20.00 target price on the shipping company's stock.

Navigator Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NVGS traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $13.68. The stock had a trading volume of 491,509 shares, compared to its average volume of 196,617. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.86. Navigator has a twelve month low of $13.47 and a twelve month high of $18.18. The firm has a market cap of $1.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 12th. The shipping company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. Navigator had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 14.48%. The firm had revenue of $144.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $120.87 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Navigator will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

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Navigator Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 24th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 24th. Navigator's payout ratio is 16.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navigator

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NVGS. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its holdings in shares of Navigator by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 43,107 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $693,000 after acquiring an additional 5,592 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in shares of Navigator by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 898,403 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $14,437,000 after acquiring an additional 6,250 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. bought a new position in shares of Navigator in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,210,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Navigator in the 3rd quarter valued at about $273,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in Navigator by 108.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 178,600 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $2,870,000 after purchasing an additional 92,999 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 18.95% of the company's stock.

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.