Navient (NAVI) Projected to Post Quarterly Earnings on Wednesday

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) is expected to be posting its results before the market opens on Wednesday, January 28th. Analysts expect Navient to post earnings of $0.31 per share and revenue of $144.25 million for the quarter.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The credit services provider reported ($0.84) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($1.02). Navient had a positive return on equity of 4.12% and a negative net margin of 1.48%.The firm had revenue of $161.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Navient to post $1 EPS for the current fiscal year and $1 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Navient Price Performance

NASDAQ NAVI opened at $11.97 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $12.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.94. Navient has a 52 week low of $10.53 and a 52 week high of $16.07. The company has a quick ratio of 9.41, a current ratio of 9.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.17 and a beta of 1.29.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. Navient’s dividend payout ratio is currently -118.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NAVI. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Navient from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Navient from $14.00 to $12.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Navient from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Cowen reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Navient in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Navient in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $12.57.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Navient by 77.0% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 7,766 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 3,378 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Navient in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $143,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Navient by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 18,372 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 1,168 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Navient by 88.7% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 20,894 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 9,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Navient by 59.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,560 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 8,015 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

About Navient

Navient Corporation (NASDAQ: NAVI) is a specialized provider of asset management and business processing solutions, with a primary focus on student loan servicing. Established in 2014 through the separation from Sallie Mae, Navient assumed responsibility for servicing federal and private education loans, positioning itself as one of the largest servicers of higher education debt in the United States.

The company’s core activities center on federal student loan servicing under contracts with the U.S.