Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Cut to Underperform at Bank of America

Bank of America downgraded shares of Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $12.00 price objective on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Navient from $16.50 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Navient from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Navient from $12.50 to $15.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $13.06.

Navient Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Navient stock opened at $13.73 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.28. Navient has a 12-month low of $10.53 and a 12-month high of $16.44. The company has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.29 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 9.94, a quick ratio of 9.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.52.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.06). Navient had a return on equity of 4.08% and a net margin of 0.89%.The company had revenue of $156.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.20 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. Navient has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.950-1.050 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Navient will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Navient’s dividend payout ratio is 206.45%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NAVI. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lifted its holdings in Navient by 23.2% during the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,848,718 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,167,000 after purchasing an additional 536,933 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Navient by 47.4% during the 4th 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Navient by 32.6% during the 1st 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. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Navient during the 4th quarter worth about $4,009,000. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Navient during the 4th quarter worth about $3,717,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

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.