Aigen Investment Management LP Acquires New Position in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 19,384 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Navient by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,149,599 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $15,278,000 after purchasing an additional 10,788 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Navient by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,092,270 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,028,000 after buying an additional 19,606 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Navient by 0.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 892,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $13,919,000 after acquiring an additional 8,117 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Navient by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 467,232 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,210,000 after acquiring an additional 22,765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Navient by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 374,879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,982,000 after acquiring an additional 3,445 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

Navient Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NAVI opened at $14.19 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 9.48, a quick ratio of 9.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $13.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.72. Navient Co. has a 12 month low of $12.73 and a 12 month high of $17.56.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 EPS 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, equities research analysts predict that Navient Co. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Navient’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NAVI. StockNews.com downgraded Navient from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Navient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Navient from $15.00 to $13.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Bank of America reduced 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.90.

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.