Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.09 EPS

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The credit services provider reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.09, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $150.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $142.90 million. Navient had a negative net margin of 1.94% and a positive return on equity of 4.39%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.20 EPS.

Navient Stock Up 4.7%

Shares of NASDAQ NAVI opened at $9.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 7.67, a current ratio of 7.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.49. Navient has a 52 week low of $7.33 and a 52 week high of $13.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $8.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $891.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.06 and a beta of 1.18.

Navient Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Navient’s payout ratio is presently -101.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Navient from $12.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays boosted their price target on Navient from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Navient in a research note on Monday, April 20th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $7.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Navient from $9.00 to $8.50 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Navient currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $9.14.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Navient by 23.2% during the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,848,718 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,167,000 after acquiring an additional 536,933 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Navient by 37.8% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,543,796 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,069,000 after purchasing an additional 423,381 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Navient by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,499,113 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $19,488,000 after acquiring an additional 36,528 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Navient by 70.0% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 888,186 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,680,000 after buying an additional 365,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Navient by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 874,910 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,505,000 after purchasing an additional 21,820 shares during the period. 97.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Navient Company Profile

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.