Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Shares Gap Up to $14.79

Shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $14.79, but opened at $15.47. Navient shares last traded at $15.08, with a volume of 66,271 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on NAVI. Barclays cut their price target on Navient from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Navient from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Navient from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Navient from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Navient has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.56.

Navient Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.30, a current ratio of 9.99 and a quick ratio of 9.99. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $14.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.48 and a beta of 1.40.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $157.27 million. Navient had a net margin of 3.41% and a return on equity of 11.06%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Navient Co. will post 1.43 EPS for the current year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.25%. Navient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.03%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navient

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NAVI. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Navient by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 16,794 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Navient by 22.1% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in Navient by 23.1% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 6,245 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 1,173 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in Navient by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 133,901 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,329,000 after acquiring an additional 1,444 shares during the period. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management increased its stake in shares of Navient by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 31,279 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667 shares in the last quarter. 97.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.