Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) Shares Sold by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC reduced its stake in shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) by 47.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,605 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 9,397 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Navient were worth $141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KBC Group NV grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,392 shares during the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new position in shares of Navient in the third quarter worth $174,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Navient during the fourth quarter valued at about $167,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Navient by 12.6% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 14,173 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,587 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Navient during the third quarter worth about $256,000. 97.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Navient Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:NAVI opened at $13.41 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 9.49, a current ratio of 9.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.35. Navient Co. has a 1-year low of $12.73 and a 1-year high of $17.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.61.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Navient Co. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.77%. Navient’s payout ratio is presently 55.17%.

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.