Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) Receives $16.90 Average PT from Analysts

Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) has been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the ten research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $16.90.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NAVI shares. Stephens downgraded Navient from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $16.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Navient from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Navient from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Navient from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered Navient from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $17.00 to $15.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th.

Navient Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NAVI opened at $17.22 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.67 and a beta of 1.38. Navient has a twelve month low of $14.10 and a twelve month high of $19.69. The company has a fifty day moving average of $16.64 and a 200-day moving average of $17.17. The company has a quick ratio of 13.63, a current ratio of 13.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.35.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $193.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $210.76 million. Navient had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.17%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Navient will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. Navient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.96%.

Insider Activity

In other Navient news, EVP Mark L. Heleen sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.20, for a total transaction of $172,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 385,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,631,924.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 22.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navient

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in Navient by 27.4% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 16,272,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $302,351,000 after buying an additional 3,502,330 shares during the period. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. grew its position in shares of Navient by 31.5% in the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,586,501 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $66,781,000 after purchasing an additional 858,890 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Navient during the 4th quarter valued at $13,546,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in Navient by 22.9% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,641,958 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,019,000 after purchasing an additional 491,644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Navient by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,891,365 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,113,000 after purchasing an additional 467,779 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

About Navient

Navient Corporation provides technology-enabled education finance and business processing solutions for education, health care, and government clients in the United States. It operates through three segments: Federal Education Loans, Consumer Lending, and Business Processing. The company owns Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans that are insured or guaranteed by state or not-for-profit agencies; and performs servicing on its portfolios, as well as federal education loans held by other institutions.