Brokerages Set Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) Price Target at $15.78

Shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) have earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $15.75.

NAVI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Navient from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Navient from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Navient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Navient from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Navient from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th.

Insider Activity at Navient

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 stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 27.99% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navient

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 779,973 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in 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 worth $23,047,000 after purchasing an additional 171,160 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Navient by 5.4% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 444,467 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,929,000 after buying an additional 22,646 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in Navient by 90.9% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 386,379 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,723,000 after buying an additional 183,969 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Navient by 0.9% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 322,820 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,700,000 after buying an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. 97.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Navient Price Performance

Shares of NAVI stock opened at $15.08 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 9.49, a current ratio of 9.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.59. Navient has a 12-month low of $13.71 and a 12-month high of $19.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $15.43 and a 200-day moving average of $15.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.86 and a beta of 1.39.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $1.20. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion during 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Navient will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Navient’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.75%.

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.