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

Jefferies Financial Group reissued their buy rating on shares of Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $20.00 target price on the shipping company’s stock.

Navigator Stock Up 0.7 %

NVGS stock opened at $13.88 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.28 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 has a 12 month low of $13.55 and a 12 month high of $18.18. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $16.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.90.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 12th. The shipping company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $144.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $120.87 million. Navigator had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 7.40%. Sell-side analysts expect that Navigator will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navigator

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Manhattan CO. LLC. raised 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 worth $15,881,000 after buying an additional 207,851 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Navigator by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,001,114 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $15,367,000 after purchasing an additional 102,711 shares during the period. Gagnon Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Navigator by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 852,608 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $13,088,000 after purchasing an additional 57,966 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 136,160 shares during the period. Finally, First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Navigator by 266.4% during the 4th quarter. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP now owns 682,516 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,477,000 after purchasing an additional 496,220 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.