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

Shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $13.90.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Navient from $15.00 to $13.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Navient from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Navient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navient

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Navient during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,182,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Navient during the 4th quarter worth approximately $176,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Navient by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 192,867 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,563,000 after buying an additional 30,798 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Navient in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,009,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Navient in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $207,000. 97.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Navient Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NAVI opened at $14.19 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.35, a current ratio of 9.48 and a quick ratio of 9.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s 50-day moving average is $13.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.72. Navient has a 1-year low of $12.73 and a 1-year high of $17.56.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.01). Navient had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 6.69%. Analysts forecast that Navient will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Navient Announces Dividend

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

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.