Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) Receives Average Rating of "Reduce" from Brokerages

Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $15.78.

Several analysts have issued reports on NAVI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Navient from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com raised Navient from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Navient from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Navient in a research report on Monday, September 30th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $17.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Navient from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th.

Navient Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Navient stock traded up $0.02 on Tuesday, hitting $14.22. 511,337 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 784,439. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $15.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.59, a current ratio of 9.49 and a quick ratio of 9.49. Navient has a one year low of $13.71 and a one year high of $19.68.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $1.20. Navient had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 1.71%. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $150.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Navient will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Navient's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navient

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NAVI. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its holdings in Navient by 27.8% in the third quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,581,311 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $55,833,000 after purchasing an additional 779,973 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Navient by 12.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,582,928 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $23,047,000 after purchasing an additional 171,160 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Navient by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 391,401 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $6,810,000 after purchasing an additional 27,997 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its stake in Navient by 90.9% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 386,379 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $6,723,000 after purchasing an additional 183,969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Navient by 0.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 322,820 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,700,000 after buying an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. 97.14% of the stock is owned by 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.