Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Stock Price Down 7.2% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Navient shares fell 7.2% to about $7.81 in Monday mid-day trading, with trading volume roughly 95% below its average.
• Analyst views were mostly cautious: the average rating was “Reduce” with an $8.00 price target; Barclays and TD Cowen cut their targets, while Zacks Research upgraded the stock to Strong Buy.
• Navient reported quarterly EPS of $0.03, missing the $0.13 consensus estimate. Its quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share equates to a 7.8% yield, though the payout ratio was 120.75%.

Navient Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) shares fell 7.2% during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as low as $8.05 and last traded at $7.8110. Approximately 62,786 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 95% from the average daily volume of 1,169,570 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.42.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on NAVI shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Navient from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Navient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Navient from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Navient from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Navient in a research note on Monday, September 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $8.00.

Navient Trading Down 3.0%

The firm has a market cap of $765.71 million, a P/E ratio of 15.46 and a beta of 1.17. The business's 50-day moving average is $9.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.87. The company has a current ratio of 7.50, a quick ratio of 10.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.37.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $308.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.92 million. Navient had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 3.65%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.84) earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Navient Corporation will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. Navient's dividend payout ratio is presently 120.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navient

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NAVI. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Navient in the second quarter worth $110,235,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Navient during the second quarter valued at $11,989,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Navient by 574.2% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 834,682 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,571,000 after purchasing an additional 710,875 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Navient by 41.5% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,939,380 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $16,504,000 after purchasing an additional 568,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in shares of Navient by 145.9% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 939,099 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,992,000 after purchasing an additional 557,141 shares in the last quarter. 97.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Navient Company Profile

Navient Corp. NASDAQ: NAVI is a financial services company that provides education finance and business-processing solutions. The company has historically serviced and managed federal and private student loans, helping borrowers with account administration, repayment processing, customer support and related loan-management services.

Navient's operations have evolved as the company reduced its role in servicing federally owned student loans. In 2021, it transferred its federal student loan servicing portfolio to Aidvantage, a division of Maximus.

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