Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Sees Large Volume Increase - Here's What Happened

Navient Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 1,721,943 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 127% from the previous session's volume of 758,771 shares.The stock last traded at $15.75 and had previously closed at $14.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NAVI shares. TD Securities increased their price target on Navient from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Navient from $14.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Navient from $11.00 to $12.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Navient presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $13.29.

Navient Stock Up 2.6%

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $13.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.32. The company has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a PE ratio of 31.18 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 (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.09. Navient had a net margin of 1.37% and a return on equity of 5.20%. The business had revenue of $156.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $150.40 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Navient Corporation will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Navient's dividend payout ratio is presently 128.00%.

Institutional Trading of Navient

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NAVI. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd boosted its position in Navient by 29.7% in the 1st quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,311,785 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $29,198,000 after buying an additional 528,716 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Navient by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,954,896 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $24,690,000 after purchasing an additional 132,313 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Navient by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,567,466 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $20,832,000 after purchasing an additional 199,937 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Navient by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,459,166 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $18,429,000 after purchasing an additional 143,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Navient by 32.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,439,903 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $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.