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

Shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $14.58.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Stephen M. Hauber sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 256,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,853,245. This represents a 3.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 27.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navient

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NAVI. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Navient by 47.0% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,355 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,392 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Navient in the 3rd quarter worth about $87,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Navient during the 3rd quarter valued at about $95,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Navient by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 7,360 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Navient in the second quarter worth approximately $121,000. 97.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Navient Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NAVI opened at $14.49 on Friday. Navient has a 1 year low of $12.73 and a 1 year 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $14.26 and its 200 day moving average is $15.01. The company has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a PE ratio of 21.00 and a beta of 1.43.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $1.20. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $150.04 million. Navient had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 1.71%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Navient will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Navient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.75%.

Navient Company Profile

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.