Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Buys Shares of 16,448 Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 16,448 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Navient by 0.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 892,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $13,919,000 after buying an additional 8,117 shares in the last quarter. Stadium Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Navient by 6.7% in the third quarter. Stadium Capital Management LLC now owns 340,170 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,303,000 after buying an additional 21,385 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Navient by 12.6% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 14,173 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 1,587 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in shares of Navient in the third quarter valued at approximately $174,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Navient by 137.2% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 33,653 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 19,465 shares in the last quarter. 97.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Navient

In other Navient news, EVP Stephen M. Hauber sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,853,245. The trade was a 3.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 27.99% of the company’s stock.

Navient Stock Performance

NASDAQ NAVI opened at $13.89 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.13 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.16 and a 200-day moving average of $15.18. Navient Co. has a fifty-two week low of $13.71 and a fifty-two week high of $19.44. 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 (NASDAQ:NAVI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $1.20. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 prior year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Navient Co. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.61%. Navient’s payout ratio is currently 92.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on NAVI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Navient from $15.50 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on Navient from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com raised Navient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Navient from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.63.

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.