VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Makes New $1.14 Million Investment in Navient Corporation $NAVI

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems purchased 133,950 Navient shares worth approximately $1.14 million in the second quarter, while institutional investors collectively own 97.14% of the company.
• Analysts remain cautious on Navient, with five Hold ratings and four Sell ratings, an overall “Reduce” consensus, and an average price target of $9.14.
• Navient exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.29 in EPS versus the $0.20 consensus and $150 million in revenue. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.16, representing a 6.8% annualized yield.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in Navient Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVI - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 133,950 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,140,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned 0.14% of Navient as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Navient by 41.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,939,380 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $16,504,000 after acquiring an additional 568,590 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Navient during the second quarter worth $1,295,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Navient during the second quarter worth $2,530,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Navient in the first quarter worth $1,227,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Navient in the second quarter worth $3,176,000. 97.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NAVI. TD Cowen reiterated a "sell" rating on shares of Navient in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Navient in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Navient from $9.50 to $8.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $9.14.

Navient Stock Performance

NASDAQ NAVI opened at $9.42 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $883.41 million, a P/E ratio of -18.84 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.57. 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 Corporation has a 12-month low of $7.33 and a 12-month high of $13.50.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 negative net margin of 1.64% and a positive return on equity of 4.68%. The firm had revenue of $150.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $142.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.20 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Navient Corporation will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Navient's dividend payout ratio is currently -128.00%.

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.

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