Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Lowered to "Strong Sell" Rating by TD Cowen

TD Cowen downgraded shares of Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI - Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

NAVI has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com cut Navient from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Navient from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Navient from $11.00 to $12.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Navient from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, TD Securities raised their price target on shares of Navient from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.93.

Navient Trading Up 0.1 %

Navient stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $12.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 714,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 775,243. Navient has a 1 year low of $10.53 and a 1 year high of $16.97. The company has a current ratio of 9.48, a quick ratio of 9.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 11.01 and a beta of 1.38. The stock's fifty day moving average is $12.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.72.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.09. Navient had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 6.69%. The firm had revenue of $156.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $150.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Navient will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Navient's dividend payout ratio is presently 128.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Navient by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,822,583 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $24,222,000 after purchasing an additional 109,229 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Navient by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,567,466 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $20,832,000 after buying an additional 199,937 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Navient by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,315,841 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $17,488,000 after acquiring an additional 423,013 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Navient by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,149,599 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $15,278,000 after acquiring an additional 10,788 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Navient by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 917,232 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $12,190,000 after acquiring an additional 22,765 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.