Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) have received an average rating of “Reduce” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.93.

NAVI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Navient from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Securities boosted their price target on Navient from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Navient from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. TD Cowen downgraded Navient from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Navient from $11.00 to $12.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navient

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Navient by 1,043.8% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 635,466 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,445,000 after purchasing an additional 579,909 shares in the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its stake in shares of Navient by 29.7% in the first quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,311,785 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $29,198,000 after purchasing an additional 528,716 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Navient by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,315,841 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,488,000 after purchasing an additional 423,013 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL grew its stake in shares of Navient by 1,088.8% in the fourth quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 460,646 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,122,000 after purchasing an additional 421,898 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Navient by 32.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,439,903 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $18,186,000 after purchasing an additional 353,898 shares in the last quarter. 97.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Navient Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NAVI opened at $13.25 on Friday. Navient has a twelve month low of $10.53 and a twelve month high of $16.97. 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 market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.57.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.09. Navient had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 2.96%. The business had revenue of $156.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $150.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Navient 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, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Navient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 128.00%.

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.