Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Sets New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $12.74 and last traded at $12.76, with a volume of 253758 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $12.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on NAVI. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Navient from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Navient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Navient from $15.00 to $13.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen lowered their price objective 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, Bank of America cut their target price on Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Navient presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.58.

Navient Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.59, a quick ratio of 9.49 and a current ratio of 9.49. The stock has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90 and a beta of 1.43.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $1.20. Navient had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 1.71%. The business 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 posted $0.84 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Navient Co. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 4.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Navient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navient

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $55,833,000 after buying an additional 779,973 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Navient by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,582,928 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $23,047,000 after acquiring an additional 171,160 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Navient by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,092,270 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,028,000 after acquiring an additional 19,606 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Navient by 0.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 892,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $13,919,000 after purchasing an additional 8,117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Navient by 5.4% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 444,467 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,929,000 after purchasing an additional 22,646 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

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.