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

Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $13.71 and last traded at $13.75, with a volume of 459630 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.26.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NAVI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Navient from $15.50 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays upped 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. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Navient from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Navient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.50.

Navient Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 9.49, a current ratio of 9.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.59. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of 19.59 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $15.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.16.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $1.20. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $150.04 million. Navient had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 1.71%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Navient Co. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.73%. Navient’s payout ratio is currently 92.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Navient

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NAVI. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Navient by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,581,311 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $55,833,000 after purchasing an additional 779,973 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Navient during the second quarter valued at about $3,345,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Navient by 12.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,582,928 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $23,047,000 after buying an additional 171,160 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Navient in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,327,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Navient by 59.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 284,130 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,429,000 after acquiring an additional 105,454 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.