Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Position in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 374,879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,445 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Navient were worth $4,982,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Navient by 59.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 284,130 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,429,000 after purchasing an additional 105,454 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Navient during the third quarter worth about $1,398,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Navient in the third quarter worth about $714,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Navient in the third quarter valued at about $511,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Navient by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 467,232 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,210,000 after buying an additional 22,765 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

Navient Stock Performance

Navient stock opened at $13.91 on Tuesday. Navient Co. has a 52 week low of $12.73 and a 52 week high of $17.56. The company has a current ratio of 9.48, a quick ratio of 9.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.35. The stock has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $13.72 and a 200-day moving average of $14.78.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.01). Navient had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 6.69%. On average, analysts expect that Navient Co. will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Navient’s payout ratio is currently 55.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on NAVI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Navient from $15.00 to $13.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Navient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Navient from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.90.

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.