JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Stock

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $12.50 to $15.50 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the credit services provider's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective suggests a potential upside of 1.71% from the stock's previous close.

NAVI has been the topic of several other reports. TD Cowen cut shares of Navient from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Navient from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Navient from $14.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Securities increased their target price 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $13.71.

Navient Stock Performance

Shares of NAVI stock traded down $0.35 on Friday, reaching $15.24. The stock had a trading volume of 626,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 767,673. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.48 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 9.88, a current ratio of 9.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.56. Navient has a 12 month low of $10.53 and a 12 month high of $16.97. The firm's 50-day moving average is $13.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.34.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $156.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 prior year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Navient will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Navient

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Navient by 815.0% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,443 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Navient during the first quarter worth $40,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Navient during the first quarter worth $71,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Navient by 15.7% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 7,303 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Navient by 2,663.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,096 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 7,803 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.