QRG Capital Management Inc. Purchases 2,716 Shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,929 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,716 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Navient were worth $233,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Navient in the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Navient in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 869 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Navient during the third quarter worth $87,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Navient in the third quarter worth $95,000. 97.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Navient Stock Up 0.8 %

NAVI opened at $15.50 on Wednesday. Navient Co. has a fifty-two week low of $13.71 and a fifty-two week high of $19.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.59, a current ratio of 9.49 and a quick ratio of 9.49. The company’s 50-day moving average is $15.39 and its 200 day moving average is $15.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46 and a beta of 1.39.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $1.20. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $150.04 million. Navient had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 1.71%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.84 EPS. Research analysts expect that Navient Co. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Navient’s payout ratio is 92.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Stephen M. Hauber sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 256,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,853,245. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 27.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NAVI has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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. Barclays increased their price target on Navient from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America started coverage on Navient in a report on Monday, September 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $17.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Navient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Navient from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.75.

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.