Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Cut to "Strong Sell" at TD Cowen

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

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on NAVI. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Navient from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Navient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com lowered Navient from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Navient from $11.00 to $12.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Navient from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $12.93.

Navient Stock Performance

Shares of NAVI stock traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $12.71. The stock had a trading volume of 139,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 771,877. Navient has a one year low of $10.53 and a one year high of $16.97. The firm has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 1.38. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $12.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.69. The company has a quick ratio of 9.49, a current ratio of 9.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.35.

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

Navient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Navient's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 128.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navient

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Navient by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 44,052 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $585,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Navient by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 12,877 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 1,804 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Navient by 815.0% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,443 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 2,176 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its holdings in Navient by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 47,774 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $635,000 after acquiring an additional 2,190 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Navient by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 23,460 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 2,687 shares during the period. 97.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.