Aristides Capital LLC Increases Stake in Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS)

Aristides Capital LLC boosted its stake in Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,034 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 1,428 shares during the period. Aristides Capital LLC’s holdings in Navigator were worth $231,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of NVGS. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Navigator by 108.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in Navigator by 56.6% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 26,158 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 9,458 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Navigator by 754.5% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 18,800 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 16,600 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Navigator by 61.0% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,383 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd increased its stake in shares of Navigator by 130.7% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 36,927 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 20,923 shares in the last quarter. 18.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Navigator Trading Down 10.9 %

Shares of NYSE:NVGS opened at $10.90 on Monday. Navigator Holdings Ltd. has a 1 year low of $10.45 and a 1 year high of $18.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $15.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.60. The company has a market cap of $756.30 million, a P/E ratio of 9.64 and a beta of 1.07. 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 posted its 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 net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The business had revenue of $144.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $120.87 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Navigator Holdings Ltd. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Navigator Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 24th were given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 24th. Navigator’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.67%.

Navigator 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.