Bank of America Initiates Coverage on Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI)

Equities research analysts at Bank of America began coverage on shares of Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating and a $17.00 price target on the credit services provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 11.70% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Navient from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Navient from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Navient from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.70.

Navient Stock Performance

NAVI stock opened at $15.22 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.53. The company has a current ratio of 9.99, a quick ratio of 9.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.30. Navient has a 12-month low of $13.95 and a 12-month high of $19.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of 9.76 and a beta of 1.39.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.14). Navient had a net margin of 3.41% and a return on equity of 11.06%. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $157.27 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Navient will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navient

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NAVI. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Navient in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Navient in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Navient by 22.1% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Navient by 23.1% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 6,245 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 1,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Navient during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $121,000. Institutional investors 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.