Brokerages Set Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) Target Price at $15.50

Shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $15.50.

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

Navient Price Performance

Shares of NAVI opened at $13.29 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $14.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.11. The company has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.26 and a beta of 1.40. Navient has a fifty-two week low of $12.77 and a fifty-two week high of $18.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.59, a quick ratio of 9.49 and a current ratio of 9.49.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.45 EPS 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 last year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Navient will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.82%. Navient’s payout ratio is currently 92.75%.

Insider Transactions at Navient

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 value of $150,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 256,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,853,245. This trade represents a 3.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 27.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navient

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Navient by 1.6% during the second 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 last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Navient by 22.1% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in shares of Navient by 2.7% in the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 45,584 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $711,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Navient by 47.0% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,355 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 1,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in Navient by 11.5% during the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 13,944 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. 97.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.