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

Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) has received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $15.50.

NAVI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Navient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Navient from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays increased their price objective on Navient from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Navient from $15.50 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

Navient Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NAVI stock opened at $13.05 on Wednesday. Navient has a 1-year low of $12.96 and a 1-year high of $18.94. The company has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.59, a current ratio of 9.49 and a quick ratio of 9.49. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.13.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $1.20. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $150.04 million. Navient had a net margin of 1.71% and a return on equity of 8.62%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Navient will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Navient’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Navient news, EVP Stephen M. Hauber sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 256,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,853,245. This trade represents a 3.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 27.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navient

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Navient by 102,163.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 85,901 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after buying an additional 85,817 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Navient in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,398,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Navient in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $511,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Navient during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,327,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Navient by 59.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 284,130 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,429,000 after purchasing an additional 105,454 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.