Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 98,000 shares, a drop of 31.4% from the February 13th total of 142,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 192,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.5 days. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Navigator Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NVGS opened at $14.01 on Tuesday. Navigator has a 1-year low of $13.47 and a 1-year high of $18.18. The company has a 50-day moving average of $15.92 and a 200 day moving average of $15.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39 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) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Navigator had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The company had revenue of $144.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.87 million. On average, research analysts expect that Navigator will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Navigator Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, March 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 24th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Navigator’s payout ratio is 16.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wexford Capital LP increased its position in Navigator by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. Wexford Capital LP now owns 85,425 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,311,000 after purchasing an additional 22,857 shares during the period. State of Wyoming increased its position in Navigator by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 34,143 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 6,244 shares during the period. Man Group plc increased its position in Navigator by 159.9% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 203,441 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,123,000 after purchasing an additional 125,178 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in Navigator during the 4th quarter valued at about $554,000. Finally, First Manhattan CO. LLC. increased its position in Navigator by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 1,034,596 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $15,881,000 after purchasing an additional 207,851 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 18.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Navigator in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Navigator currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.60.

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.