Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Reaches New 12-Month Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday after TD Cowen lowered their price target on the stock from $14.00 to $13.00. TD Cowen currently has a sell rating on the stock. Navient traded as low as $13.74 and last traded at $13.76, with a volume of 40880 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.99.

NAVI has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Navient from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Navient from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays lifted their price target on Navient from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Navient in a research note on Monday, September 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $17.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.78.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navient

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Navient during the first quarter worth about $36,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Navient during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Navient by 22.1% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Navient in the 3rd quarter valued at $87,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Navient during the third quarter worth $95,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

Navient Trading Up 1.5 %

The company’s 50-day moving average is $15.54 and its 200 day moving average is $15.26. The company has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 9.99, a current ratio of 9.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.59.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $1.20. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $150.04 million. Navient had a net margin of 1.71% and a return on equity of 8.62%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Navient Co. will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.51%. Navient’s payout ratio is currently 92.75%.

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.