Orbis Allan Gray Ltd Purchases 528,716 Shares of Navient Corporation $NAVI

Key Points

• Orbis Allan Gray Ltd increased its stake in Navient Corporation by 29.7%, acquiring an additional 528,716 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 2.29% of the company valued at $29.2 million.
• Navient Corporation reported earnings per share of $0.21 for the last quarter, missing estimates by $0.06, and provided a fiscal year 2025 guidance of $0.950-1.050 EPS.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, representing an annualized yield of 4.7%, with a payout ratio currently at 206.45%.

Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lifted its position in Navient Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVI - Free Report) by 29.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,311,785 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 528,716 shares during the quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd owned approximately 2.29% of Navient worth $29,198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Navient in the first quarter worth about $40,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Navient in the first quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Navient by 15.7% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 7,303 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Navient by 2,663.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,096 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 7,803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Navient in the first quarter valued at approximately $129,000. 97.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Navient Price Performance

NASDAQ NAVI traded up $0.02 on Tuesday, reaching $13.73. 458,195 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 806,600. Navient Corporation has a 12 month low of $10.53 and a 12 month high of $16.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.52, a current ratio of 9.94 and a quick ratio of 9.94. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.28. The stock has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a PE ratio of 44.29 and a beta of 1.35.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.06). Navient had a net margin of 0.89% and a return on equity of 4.08%. The business had revenue of $156.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share. Navient has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.950-1.050 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Navient Corporation will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Navient's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 206.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NAVI shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Navient from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Navient from $16.50 to $15.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Navient from $12.50 to $15.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $13.56.

About Navient

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.