Empowered Funds LLC Buys Shares of 368,217 Navient Corporation $NAVI

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC acquired 368,217 Navient shares worth approximately $3.13 million, giving it a roughly 0.39% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 97.14% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Navient has an average “Reduce” rating, with five analysts at Hold and four at Sell; JPMorgan also cut its price target to $8.00.
• Navient reported quarterly EPS of $0.29, exceeding the $0.20 consensus estimate, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.16, representing a 6.9% annualized yield.

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Navient Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVI - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 368,217 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,134,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.39% of Navient at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Navient during the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Navient by 39.2% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,228 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 1,191 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Navient by 552.6% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,855 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 4,111 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Navient by 325.6% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,005 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 3,829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Navient by 3,045.4% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,127 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 4,964 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "sell" rating on shares of Navient in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Navient in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Navient from $9.50 to $8.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $9.14.

Navient Stock Down 2.4%

Navient stock opened at $9.28 on Wednesday. Navient Corporation has a one year low of $7.33 and a one year high of $13.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $8.80 and a 200 day moving average of $8.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.73, a quick ratio of 10.53 and a current ratio of 10.53. The stock has a market cap of $870.32 million, a PE ratio of -18.56 and a beta of 1.18.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $150.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $142.87 million. Navient had a positive return on equity of 4.68% and a negative net margin of 1.64%.During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Navient Corporation will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.9%. Navient's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -128.00%.

Navient 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.

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