Navient Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVI) Position Increased by Allianz Asset Management GmbH

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management increased its stake in Navient Corporation by 47.1%, owning approximately 381,040 shares valued at about $4.81 million.
• Navient reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.28 for the last quarter, exceeding the estimate of $0.19, with a revenue of $156 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.16, resulting in an annual yield of 4.55%, although its dividend payout ratio is currently at 128%.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of Navient Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVI - Free Report) by 47.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 381,040 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 122,061 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned 0.38% of Navient worth $4,813,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NAVI. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Navient by 69.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 667,372 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $8,869,000 after buying an additional 273,483 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in Navient by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 130,046 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,728,000 after buying an additional 36,498 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Navient by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 192,867 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,563,000 after buying an additional 30,798 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in Navient by 149.5% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 51,900 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $690,000 after buying an additional 31,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Navient by 143.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 356,405 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,737,000 after buying an additional 209,744 shares during the last quarter. 97.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NAVI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Securities boosted their price objective on Navient from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Navient from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen lowered Navient from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Navient from $12.50 to $15.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Navient from $16.50 to $15.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $13.56.

Navient Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NAVI traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $12.65. 220,333 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 805,630. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.52, a current ratio of 9.94 and a quick ratio of 9.88. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $14.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.42. The firm has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.79 and a beta of 1.40. Navient Corporation has a twelve month low of $10.53 and a twelve month high of $16.97.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $156.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.20 million. Navient had a return on equity of 4.08% and a net margin of 0.89%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Navient Corporation will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Navient's dividend payout ratio is 206.45%.

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.