Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)’s share price hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $12.78 and last traded at $12.82, with a volume of 86349 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.05.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on NAVI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Navient from $15.50 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on Navient from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen lowered their target price 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. Bank of America reduced their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Navient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Three 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.50.

Navient Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $14.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.59, a current ratio of 9.49 and a quick ratio of 9.49.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $1.20. Navient had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 1.71%. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $150.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Navient Co. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.98%. Navient’s payout ratio is 92.75%.

Insider Transactions at Navient

In other news, EVP Stephen M. Hauber sold 10,000 shares of Navient stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $150,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 256,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,853,245. The trade was a 3.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 27.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Navient

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Navient by 47.0% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,355 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Navient by 22.1% during the second 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 during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Navient in the 3rd quarter valued at $87,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Navient in the 3rd quarter worth about $95,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Navient by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 7,360 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 1,455 shares during the period. 97.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.