Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $12.68 and last traded at $12.74, with a volume of 171907 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $13.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on NAVI. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Navient from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Navient from $15.00 to $13.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Navient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Navient presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.90.

Navient Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.44. 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 (NASDAQ:NAVI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts predict that Navient Co. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Navient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navient

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Navient by 1.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,092,270 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,028,000 after purchasing an additional 19,606 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Navient by 82.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 38,323 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $597,000 after buying an additional 17,349 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in Navient in the 3rd quarter valued at about $511,000. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in Navient by 137.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 33,653 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $525,000 after acquiring an additional 19,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new position in Navient during the third quarter worth about $174,000. 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.