Corton Capital Inc. Invests $153,000 in Navigator Holdings Ltd. $NVGS

Corton Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 10,804 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $153,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its position in Navigator by 284.3% during the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 206,108 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,743,000 after buying an additional 152,470 shares during the period. Harvey Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Navigator by 64.4% during the first quarter. Harvey Capital Management Inc. now owns 268,100 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,568,000 after acquiring an additional 105,000 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Navigator by 49.4% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 317,095 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $4,221,000 after acquiring an additional 104,854 shares during the last quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Navigator in the 1st quarter valued at $1,250,000. Finally, 1492 Capital Management LLC raised its position in Navigator by 320.1% in the 1st quarter. 1492 Capital Management LLC now owns 112,397 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,496,000 after purchasing an additional 85,645 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 18.95% of the company’s stock.

Navigator Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Navigator stock opened at $16.33 on Wednesday. Navigator Holdings Ltd. has a one year low of $10.55 and a one year high of $17.52. The company has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.86 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $15.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.09.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The shipping company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. The business had revenue of $153.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $133.84 million. Navigator had a net margin of 15.57% and a return on equity of 6.56%. On average, analysts forecast that Navigator Holdings Ltd. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Navigator Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 28th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 28th. Navigator’s dividend payout ratio is 15.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on NVGS shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Navigator from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Navigator in a report on Thursday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Navigator in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.50.

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.