Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $16.60, but opened at $15.34. Navient shares last traded at $15.80, with a volume of 358,991 shares trading hands.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of brokerages have issued reports on NAVI. TD Cowen downgraded Navient from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Navient in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Navient from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Stephens lowered shares of Navient from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $16.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $14.00 target price (down previously from $17.00) on shares of Navient in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $16.67.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Navient
Navient Trading Down 3.1 %
The company has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a PE ratio of 8.97 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.12. The company has a current ratio of 13.64, a quick ratio of 13.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.35.
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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.07). Navient had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The firm had revenue of $193.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $210.76 million. Analysts predict that Navient Co. will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.
Navient Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Navient's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.96%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Navient news, EVP Mark L. Heleen sold 10,000 shares of Navient stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.20, for a total value of $172,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 385,577 shares in the company, valued at $6,631,924.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 27.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navient
Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its holdings in Navient by 31.5% during the 4th quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,586,501 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $66,781,000 after acquiring an additional 858,890 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Navient during the fourth quarter worth about $13,546,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in shares of Navient by 207.8% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 231,186 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,320,000 after acquiring an additional 156,086 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Navient by 115.9% during the first quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 283,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,924,000 after acquiring an additional 151,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Navient by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 541,674 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $9,328,000 after acquiring an additional 107,543 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.14% of the company's stock.
About Navient
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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