Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) has received an average rating of “Reduce” from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and seven have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $15.70.

NAVI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on Navient from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Navient from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Navient from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Navient from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday.

Navient Price Performance

Shares of NAVI stock opened at $14.10 on Wednesday. Navient has a 52-week low of $13.96 and a 52-week high of $19.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.38, a quick ratio of 12.52 and a current ratio of 12.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.04 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $14.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.16.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.05. Navient had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 3.93%. The business had revenue of $163.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.04 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Navient will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.54%. Navient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Navient news, EVP Mark L. Heleen sold 10,000 shares of Navient stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.00, for a total transaction of $160,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 393,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,297,776. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 27.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NAVI. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in Navient in the 4th quarter worth $2,441,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Navient by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 811,826 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $15,116,000 after acquiring an additional 65,576 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Navient in the 4th quarter worth $394,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd bought a new position in Navient in the 4th quarter worth $13,546,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LP raised its holdings in Navient by 126.6% in the 4th quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 103,807 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,933,000 after acquiring an additional 58,002 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

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.