Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Now Covered by Analysts at Bank of America

Key Points

• Bank of America initiated coverage on Navient with an underperform rating and a $7 price target, implying roughly a 21% downside from the current share price.
• Consensus among analysts is a Reduce rating (six Hold, five Sell) with an average price target of $9.88.
• Navient traded around $8.87 after reporting Q results that missed expectations (EPS $0.02 vs. $0.31 expected; revenue $137M vs. $144.25M), with a market cap of about $843M and a 52‑week range of $7.80–$16.07.

Research analysts at Bank of America began coverage on shares of Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Monday. The brokerage set an "underperform" rating and a $7.00 price target on the credit services provider's stock. Bank of America's target price would indicate a potential downside of 21.05% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Navient from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Navient from $15.00 to $9.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays cut their price target on Navient from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Navient from $10.50 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Navient from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Navient presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $9.88.

Navient Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NAVI traded down $0.00 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $8.87. The company had a trading volume of 45,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,021,971. The stock has a market cap of $843.07 million, a P/E ratio of -10.77 and a beta of 1.27. The company's 50 day moving average price is $8.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.96. The company has a current ratio of 9.01, a quick ratio of 9.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.94. Navient has a 52-week low of $7.80 and a 52-week high of $16.07.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The credit services provider reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $137.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.25 million. Navient had a positive return on equity of 4.70% and a negative net margin of 2.47%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.24) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Navient will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navient

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Navient by 70.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,978 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 818 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Navient by 79.0% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,525 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Navient during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Navient by 39.2% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,228 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Navient by 3,045.4% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,127 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 4,964 shares in the last quarter. 97.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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