Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Stock Price Down 2.3% – Here’s Why

Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) dropped 2.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $13.17 and last traded at $13.21. Approximately 325,217 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 807,172 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Navient from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Navient from $15.50 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Navient from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Navient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.50.

Navient Trading Down 1.7 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.26 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.59, a quick ratio of 9.49 and a current ratio of 9.49.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $1.20. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $150.04 million. Navient had a net margin of 1.71% and a return on equity of 8.62%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Navient Co. will post 2.47 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Navient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Navient news, EVP Stephen M. Hauber sold 10,000 shares of Navient stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 256,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,853,245. The trade was a 3.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 27.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navient

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Navient by 22.1% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Navient by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 322,820 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,700,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in Navient by 102,163.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 85,901 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 85,817 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Navient by 12.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,582,928 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $23,047,000 after purchasing an additional 171,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Navient by 3.5% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 122,024 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,777,000 after purchasing an additional 4,095 shares during the last quarter. 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.