Navient Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVI) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts

Shares of Navient Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVI) have earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $9.2857.

NAVI has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Navient from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays raised their price target on Navient from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Navient from $15.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Navient in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Navient in a research note on Monday, April 20th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $7.00 price objective on the stock.

Navient Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NAVI opened at $7.89 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $8.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.54. Navient has a 12-month low of $7.80 and a 12-month high of $16.07. The firm has a market cap of $741.58 million, a PE ratio of -12.52 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 7.67, a current ratio of 7.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.49.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $152.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $141.47 million. Navient had a positive return on equity of 4.39% and a negative net margin of 1.94%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Navient will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. Navient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -101.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navient

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Navient by 790.1% in the 3rd quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,590,339 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $20,913,000 after purchasing an additional 1,411,662 shares during the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lifted its position in shares of Navient by 23.2% during the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,848,718 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,167,000 after buying an additional 536,933 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Navient by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,543,796 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $20,069,000 after buying an additional 423,381 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Navient by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,484,742 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,302,000 after buying an additional 418,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Navient by 70.0% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 888,186 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,680,000 after acquiring an additional 365,677 shares during the last quarter. 97.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Navient

Navient Corporation (NASDAQ: NAVI) is a specialized provider of asset management and business processing solutions, with a primary focus on student loan servicing. Established in 2014 through the separation from Sallie Mae, Navient assumed responsibility for servicing federal and private education loans, positioning itself as one of the largest servicers of higher education debt in the United States.

The company’s core activities center on federal student loan servicing under contracts with the U.S.