Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Trading Up 3.9% – What’s Next?

Navient Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVI)’s share price was up 3.9% on Friday . The company traded as high as $9.75 and last traded at $9.67. Approximately 74,352 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 1,078,193 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on NAVI. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Navient in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on Navient from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Navient in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Navient from $9.50 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $9.14.

Navient Trading Up 2.5%

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.58. The company has a quick ratio of 10.53, a current ratio of 10.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.73. The stock has a market cap of $894.66 million, a P/E ratio of -19.08 and a beta of 1.18.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $150.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $142.87 million. Navient had a positive return on equity of 4.68% and a negative net margin of 1.64%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.20 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Navient Corporation will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.7%. Navient’s dividend payout ratio is presently -128.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navient

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Navient during the second quarter worth $110,235,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Navient during the 2nd quarter worth about $11,989,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Navient by 41.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,939,380 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $16,504,000 after buying an additional 568,590 shares during the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its stake in shares of Navient by 23.2% in the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,848,718 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,167,000 after buying an additional 536,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PDT Partners LLC acquired a new position in Navient during the second quarter worth $4,435,000. 97.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Navient

Navient Corporation (NASDAQ: NAVI) is a specialized provider of asset management and business processing solutions, with a primary focus on student loan servicing. Established in 2014 through the separation from Sallie Mae, Navient assumed responsibility for servicing federal and private education loans, positioning itself as one of the largest servicers of higher education debt in the United States.

The company’s core activities center on federal student loan servicing under contracts with the U.S.