Arbiter Partners Capital Management LLC Takes $1.39 Million Position in Navient Corporation $NAVI

Arbiter Partners Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Navient Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVI) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 105,744 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,391,000. Navient makes up approximately 0.8% of Arbiter Partners Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Arbiter Partners Capital Management LLC owned about 0.11% of Navient as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NAVI. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Navient by 79.0% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,525 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Navient in the third quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Navient in the third quarter worth approximately $88,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 3,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inceptionr LLC bought a new position in shares of Navient during the 2nd quarter valued at $152,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

Navient Trading Up 0.9%

Navient stock opened at $8.68 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $10.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.10. The company has a quick ratio of 9.01, a current ratio of 9.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.94. Navient Corporation has a 12 month low of $8.30 and a 12 month high of $16.07. The stock has a market cap of $825.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.59 and a beta of 1.33.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The credit services provider reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $137.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.25 million. Navient had a negative net margin of 2.47% and a positive return on equity of 4.70%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.24) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Navient Corporation 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 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Navient’s payout ratio is -78.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on NAVI shares. Morgan Stanley set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Navient in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Navient in a report on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Navient from $15.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays set a $9.00 target price on Navient in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Navient from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Five 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 a consensus target price of $11.63.

Navient Company Profile

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.