Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) Receives Average Rating of "Reduce" from Analysts

Shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Reduce" by the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $16.67.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen lowered shares of Navient from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $15.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Navient from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $14.00 target price (down from $17.00) on shares of Navient in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Stephens lowered shares of Navient from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $16.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Navient from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st.

Insider Transactions at Navient

In related news, EVP Mark L. Heleen sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.20, for a total value of $172,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 385,577 shares in the company, valued at $6,631,924.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 26.93% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Navient

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Denali Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Navient by 115.9% in the first quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 283,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,924,000 after buying an additional 151,900 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Navient during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Navient during the fourth quarter worth approximately $783,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Navient by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 343,761 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $6,401,000 after purchasing an additional 46,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Navient by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 74,440 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,387,000 after purchasing an additional 1,466 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.14% of the company's stock.

Navient Price Performance

Shares of Navient stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $16.21. 1,204,063 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 893,048. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.35, a current ratio of 13.64 and a quick ratio of 13.63. Navient has a 52-week low of $14.10 and a 52-week high of $19.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.11 and a beta of 1.38.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $193.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $210.76 million. Navient had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 4.72%. Sell-side analysts expect that Navient will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Navient's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.96%.

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.