Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) Earns “Buy” Rating from Jefferies Financial Group

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $20.00 price target on the shipping company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 46.15% from the stock’s previous close.

Navigator Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of Navigator stock opened at $13.69 on Wednesday. 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 fifty day moving average price of $16.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.88. The stock has a market cap of $1.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 1.39. Navigator has a twelve month low of $13.55 and a twelve month high of $18.18.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last posted 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. The company 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Navigator will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navigator

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NVGS. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 5,592 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in Navigator by 0.7% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 898,403 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $14,437,000 after acquiring an additional 6,250 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. acquired a new stake in Navigator during the third quarter worth about $1,210,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Navigator during the third quarter worth about $273,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 92,999 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 18.95% of the company’s stock.

Navigator Company Profile

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.