Amundi Grows Stake in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

Amundi raised its stake in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) by 186.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 38,069 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 24,779 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in Navient were worth $498,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NAVI. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Navient during the fourth quarter valued at $2,525,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its position in shares of Navient by 156.5% during the fourth quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 247,650 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,291,000 after buying an additional 151,086 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Navient by 59.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 284,130 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,429,000 after buying an additional 105,454 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Navient during the third quarter valued at $1,398,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Navient during the third quarter valued at $714,000. 97.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Navient Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NAVI opened at $13.54 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.35, a quick ratio of 9.49 and a current ratio of 9.48. Navient Co. has a 52-week low of $12.73 and a 52-week high of $17.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 1.36.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.01). Navient had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 2.96%. Analysts expect that Navient Co. will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Navient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NAVI shares. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. StockNews.com cut Navient from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Navient from $15.00 to $13.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Navient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.90.

Navient Profile

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.