Analysts Set Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) Price Target at $15.56

Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) has been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the nine analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $15.56.

NAVI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Navient from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Navient from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Navient from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th.

Navient Price Performance

NASDAQ NAVI opened at $15.87 on Monday. Navient has a 12 month low of $13.95 and a 12 month high of $19.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a PE ratio of 10.17 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.30, a current ratio of 9.99 and a quick ratio of 9.99.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $157.27 million. Navient had a return on equity of 11.06% and a net margin of 3.41%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Navient will post 1.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Navient’s dividend payout ratio is 41.03%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navient

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Navient by 250.9% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 41,890 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $610,000 after buying an additional 29,951 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Navient by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 46,534 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $678,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Navient by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 240,209 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,466,000 after acquiring an additional 31,983 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Navient in the 2nd quarter valued at about $324,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Navient in the 2nd quarter valued at about $121,000. 97.14% of the stock is currently 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.