KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $432,000 in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 32,500 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $432,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new stake in shares of Navient in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $174,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Navient during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $167,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Navient by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 14,173 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 1,587 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP bought a new stake in Navient in the fourth quarter worth $196,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Navient during the third quarter worth $256,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

Navient Price Performance

Shares of NAVI stock opened at $11.14 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.60 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.34. Navient Co. has a one year low of $10.96 and a one year high of $17.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.35, a current ratio of 9.48 and a quick ratio of 9.49.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last released 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Navient Co. will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.75%. Navient’s payout ratio is currently 55.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NAVI. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Navient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Navient from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. TD Cowen raised Navient from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Navient from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Navient has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.50.

Navient Company 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.