Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Analyst Says

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI - Free Report) had its target price upped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $14.00 to $16.50 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the credit services provider's stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Navient from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of Navient from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen cut shares of Navient from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Navient from $11.00 to $12.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $13.29.

Navient Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NAVI traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $15.59. The company had a trading volume of 903,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 767,031. The company's 50 day moving average price is $13.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.31. The company has a current ratio of 9.88, a quick ratio of 9.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.56. The stock has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.18 and a beta of 1.40. Navient has a 52-week low of $10.53 and a 52-week high of $16.97.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $156.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $150.40 million. Navient had a net margin of 1.37% and a return on equity of 5.20%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Navient will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Navient's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 128.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Navient by 1,043.8% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 635,466 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $8,445,000 after purchasing an additional 579,909 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd increased its position in Navient by 29.7% during the 1st quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,311,785 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $29,198,000 after purchasing an additional 528,716 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Navient by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,315,841 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $17,488,000 after purchasing an additional 423,013 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL increased its position in Navient by 1,088.8% during the 4th quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 460,646 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $6,122,000 after purchasing an additional 421,898 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Navient by 32.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,439,903 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $18,186,000 after purchasing an additional 353,898 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.14% of the company's stock.

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.