Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $14.58.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Navient from $15.00 to $13.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Navient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays raised their price objective on Navient from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Navient from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Navient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st.

Navient Stock Up 1.4 %

Navient stock opened at $14.49 on Friday. Navient has a one year low of $12.73 and a one year high of $18.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $14.26 and a 200 day moving average of $15.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.59, a quick ratio of 9.49 and a current ratio of 9.49. The stock has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a PE ratio of 21.00 and a beta of 1.43.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $1.20. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $150.04 million. Navient had a net margin of 1.71% and a return on equity of 8.62%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Navient will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Navient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Navient news, EVP Stephen M. Hauber sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 256,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,853,245. This represents a 3.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 27.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navient

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NAVI. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Navient by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,581,311 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $55,833,000 after acquiring an additional 779,973 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Navient during the second quarter valued at $3,345,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Navient during the second quarter valued at $2,327,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Navient by 59.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 284,130 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,429,000 after buying an additional 105,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Navient in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,398,000. 97.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.