Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $13.71 and last traded at $13.75, with a volume of 459630 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NAVI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Navient from $15.50 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Navient from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Navient from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Navient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Three investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.50.

Navient Trading Up 2.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $15.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.59, a current ratio of 9.49 and a quick ratio of 9.49.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $1.20. Navient had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 1.71%. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $150.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Navient Co. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.73%. Navient’s payout ratio is 92.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Stephen M. Hauber sold 10,000 shares of the 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 $3,853,245. This represents a 3.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 27.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. grew its position in shares of Navient by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,581,311 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $55,833,000 after acquiring an additional 779,973 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Navient by 12.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,582,928 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $23,047,000 after purchasing an additional 171,160 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Navient by 1.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,092,270 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,028,000 after purchasing an additional 19,606 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Navient by 0.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 892,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $13,919,000 after buying an additional 8,117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Navient by 5.4% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 444,467 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,929,000 after buying an additional 22,646 shares during the period. 97.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.