Quest Partners LLC Acquires 85,817 Shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) by 102,163.1% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 85,901 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 85,817 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Navient were worth $1,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Navient by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,545 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 2,206 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Navient during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $452,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Navient in the fourth quarter worth approximately $248,000. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in shares of Navient during the 4th quarter worth approximately $347,000. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV purchased a new position in Navient during the 4th quarter valued at $278,000. 97.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Navient Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NAVI opened at $15.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $15.38 and a 200 day moving average of $15.62. The company has a quick ratio of 9.99, a current ratio of 9.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.30. The company has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.92 and a beta of 1.39. Navient Co. has a 52 week low of $13.95 and a 52 week high of $19.68.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.14). Navient had a return on equity of 11.06% and a net margin of 3.41%. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $157.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Navient Co. will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Navient’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on NAVI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Navient from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Navient from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Navient from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.56.

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.