Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Sets New 12-Month Low - What's Next?

Key Points

• 52-week low: Navient shares hit a new 52-week low of $7.82 (last $7.875), and the consensus rating is "Reduce" with an average price target of $10.88 even as firms like Barclays and JPMorgan cut targets to $7.00 and $8.50.
• Earnings miss and weak profitability: Navient reported Q results of EPS $0.02 vs. $0.31 expected and revenue $137M vs. $144.25M, and displays a negative net margin and negative PE, indicating ongoing profitability pressure.
• Dividend and ownership: The company pays a $0.16 quarterly dividend (about an 8.2% yield) despite a negative payout ratio, and roughly 97% of shares are held by hedge funds and institutional investors.

Navient Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $7.82 and last traded at $7.8750, with a volume of 17824 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.30.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on NAVI. Zacks Research raised Navient from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $12.00 price objective on Navient in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Navient from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Barclays cut their price objective on Navient from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Navient from $10.50 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Navient presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $10.88.

Navient Stock Down 1.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $745.03 million, a PE ratio of -9.55 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.94, a quick ratio of 9.01 and a current ratio of 9.01.

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

Navient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Navient's dividend payout ratio is currently -78.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navient

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Navient by 70.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,978 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Navient by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 18,372 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Navient by 39.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Navient by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 12,604 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,706 shares during the last quarter. 97.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Navient

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.