Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) Receives $16.67 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $16.30.

A number of research analysts recently commented on NAVI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Navient from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $17.00 to $15.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Navient from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Navient in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Navient from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday.

Navient Stock Down 2.1 %

NAVI opened at $15.76 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.10. Navient has a 52 week low of $14.10 and a 52 week high of $19.69. The company has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a PE ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 13.63, a current ratio of 12.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.38.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.05. Navient had a net margin of 3.93% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business had revenue of $163.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.04 million. Analysts forecast that Navient will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Navient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.03%.

Insider Transactions at Navient

In other news, EVP Mark L. Heleen sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.20, for a total transaction of $172,000.00. Following 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 27.99% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navient

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NAVI. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Navient by 314.6% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,193 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,664 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Navient by 165.1% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 70,393 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,212,000 after buying an additional 43,843 shares during the period. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Navient by 277.8% during the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 1,511 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,111 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Navient by 367.7% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,795 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 5,342 shares during the period. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management increased its holdings in Navient by 5.5% during the third quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 29,612 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 1,540 shares during the period. 97.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.