Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Hits New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Navient Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVI) reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $7.82 and last traded at $7.8750, with a volume of 17824 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.30.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Navient from $10.50 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Navient from $15.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Navient from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Navient from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Navient in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $10.88.

Navient Stock Up 1.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.94, a current ratio of 9.01 and a quick ratio of 9.01. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $8.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $787.35 million, a P/E ratio of -10.10 and a beta of 1.27.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The credit services provider reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.29). Navient had a positive return on equity of 4.70% and a negative net margin of 2.47%.The firm had revenue of $137.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.25 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.24) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Navient Corporation will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.7%. Navient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -78.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navient

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Navient by 70.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,978 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 818 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Navient by 79.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,525 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Navient during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Navient by 39.2% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,228 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Navient by 3,045.4% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,127 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 4,964 shares in the last quarter. 97.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.