Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) Receives $12.93 Average Price Target from Analysts

Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Reduce" by the eight brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $12.93.

NAVI has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Securities upped their price objective on Navient from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Navient from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Navient from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Navient from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Navient from $11.00 to $12.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st.

Navient Price Performance

NAVI traded up $0.21 on Friday, hitting $13.59. 569,603 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 767,901. Navient has a 12 month low of $10.53 and a 12 month high of $16.97. The business has a 50-day moving average of $12.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.35, a current ratio of 9.48 and a quick ratio of 9.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 1.38.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $156.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $150.40 million. Navient had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 6.69%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Navient will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Navient's payout ratio is 128.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navient

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NAVI. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 579,909 shares in the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Navient by 29.7% during the first quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,311,785 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $29,198,000 after purchasing an additional 528,716 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Navient by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,315,841 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $17,488,000 after buying an additional 423,013 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its position in Navient by 1,088.8% in the 4th quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 460,646 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $6,122,000 after buying an additional 421,898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Navient by 32.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,439,903 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $18,186,000 after buying an additional 353,898 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.14% of the company's stock.

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.