Brokerages Set Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) Target Price at $14.58

Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) has received an average rating of “Reduce” from the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $14.58.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Navient from $15.00 to $13.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Navient from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Navient from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Navient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st.

Navient Stock Up 2.4 %

NAVI stock opened at $14.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50-day moving average of $14.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.01. Navient has a 52-week low of $12.73 and a 52-week high of $18.36. 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 posted 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 net margin of 1.71% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $150.04 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.84 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Navient will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Navient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.75%.

Insider Activity at Navient

In other Navient news, EVP Stephen M. Hauber sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 256,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,853,245. This represents a 3.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 27.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Navient

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its stake in Navient by 27.8% in the third quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,581,311 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $55,833,000 after acquiring an additional 779,973 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in shares of Navient during the 2nd quarter worth $3,345,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Navient in the second quarter valued at about $2,327,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in Navient by 59.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 284,130 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,429,000 after acquiring an additional 105,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Navient during the third quarter worth about $1,398,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

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.