Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Downgraded by Bank of America to Underperform

Key Points

• Bank of America downgraded Navient's stock from "neutral" to "underperform," setting a price target of $12.00, which indicates a potential downside of 12.02% from its current price.
• Despite the downgrade, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Navient's target price to $15.50, while both Morgan Stanley and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods have recently reduced their price targets for the stock.
• The company's latest earnings report showed EPS of $0.21, missing estimates, alongside a net margin of 0.89% and a return on equity of 4.08%.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $12.00 target price on the credit services provider's stock. Bank of America's price target points to a potential downside of 10.68% from the stock's current price.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on NAVI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Navient from $12.50 to $15.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Navient from $16.50 to $15.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Navient from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Navient currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $13.06.

Navient Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NAVI traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $13.44. The stock had a trading volume of 234,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 807,440. The company has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of 43.39 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $13.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.27. The company has a current ratio of 9.94, a quick ratio of 9.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.52. Navient has a 1 year low of $10.53 and a 1 year high of $16.44.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.06). Navient had a net margin of 0.89% and a return on equity of 4.08%. The business had revenue of $156.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $156.20 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.29 EPS. Navient has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.950-1.050 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Navient will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Navient in the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Navient in the 1st quarter worth about $71,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Navient by 15.7% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Navient by 77.0% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 7,766 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 3,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Navient by 2,663.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,096 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 7,803 shares during the last quarter. 97.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.