Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Cuts Stake in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its position in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 44,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 4,327 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Navient were worth $585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Navient in the third quarter worth approximately $1,398,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Navient during the third quarter valued at approximately $511,000. EMC Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Navient by 2,193.7% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 20,276 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 19,392 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Navient during the third quarter valued at approximately $714,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Navient by 59.0% during the third 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

Navient Price Performance

Shares of Navient stock opened at $13.91 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 9.49, a current ratio of 9.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.35. The company has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a 50 day moving average of $13.72 and a 200 day moving average of $14.78. Navient Co. has a 52 week low of $12.73 and a 52 week high of $17.56.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.01). Navient had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 6.69%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Navient Co. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.60%. Navient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NAVI. StockNews.com lowered Navient from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Navient from $15.00 to $13.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Navient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.90.

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.