Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Key Points

• JPMorgan raised Navient’s price target to $8.50 from $8.00 while maintaining a “neutral” rating, implying roughly 9.34% downside from the prior close.
• Navient shares rose 2.9% to $9.38, but broader analyst sentiment remains negative: the consensus rating is “Reduce” with an average target price of $8.17.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting earnings of $0.29 per share versus a $0.20 estimate and revenue of $150 million versus $142.87 million expected; institutional investors own 97.14% of the stock.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $8.00 to $8.50 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the credit services provider's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price points to a potential downside of 9.34% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Navient from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Navient in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "sell" rating on shares of Navient in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $8.17.

Navient Stock Up 2.9%

NASDAQ:NAVI traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $9.38. The company had a trading volume of 427,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,132,408. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.70. The company has a current ratio of 10.53, a quick ratio of 10.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.73. Navient has a 1 year low of $7.33 and a 1 year high of $13.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $879.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.75 and a beta of 1.15.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.09. Navient had a positive return on equity of 4.68% and a negative net margin of 1.64%. The company had revenue of $150.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $142.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.20 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Navient will post 0.80 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navient

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Navient by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 322,085 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,635,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Navient by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 38,948 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Navient by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 30,707 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 2,920 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd lifted its stake in Navient by 32.8% during the second quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 13,400 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 3,309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Navient by 325.6% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,005 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 3,829 shares during the last quarter. 97.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Navient

Navient Corporation is a financial services company that provides education finance and loan management solutions. Its activities include servicing and managing private education loans and federally backed loans held in its portfolio, as well as providing related customer support, payment processing and account administration services.

The company was formed in 2014 through the separation of Sallie Mae's education-lending and loan-servicing businesses. Navient formerly serviced a significant portion of the federal student loan portfolio, but it exited the U.S.

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