On Tuesday, Navigant Consulting reported that it received just 44.8 percent support during its advisory vote on compensation. The Chicago-based firm is the ninth U.S. company this year to fail to win a majority of votes present (including abstentions) during a “say on pay” vote, according to ISS data.

Navigant, a small-cap firm in the S&P 600 index, is the third company is less than a week to report a failed advisory vote after Stanley Black & Decker and Umpqua Holdings Corp.

At Navigant, it appears that investors had concerns that executive pay does not reflect the firm’s lagging stock performance. The company posted a negative 38.1 percent shareholder return over the past year, and a negative 12.4 percent return over three years, which both trail the company’s GICS peers. Meanwhile, Navigant’s CEO was granted a $275,000 cash bonus, but the compensation committee did not disclose details on how that figure was derived.  

More companies will face shareholder scrutiny over their pay practices later this week. On Thursday, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson each will hold their annual meetings. The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees' Pension Plan is urging investors to vote against management during the firms’ advisory votes. 

EBay and Janus Capital, which also have shareholder meetings on Thursday, also may face significant dissent over their pay practices. In addition, Zimmer Holdings (May 2) and Allstate (May 17) may see investor opposition during their advisory votes. 

At the same time, most companies are receiving broad support during the first year of advisory votes mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act. As of April 25, the average support for management “say on pay” proposals was 89 percent, according to ISS Voting Analytics data, which includes 219 companies in the Russell 3000 index. Investor opposition has averaged 8.9 percent, while abstentions have averaged 2.1 percent.