Analysts Set Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) Target Price at $13.90

Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $13.90.

NAVI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Navient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Navient from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Navient from $15.00 to $13.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navient

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NAVI. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Navient by 815.0% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,443 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Navient by 47.0% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,355 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,392 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Navient by 24.6% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 7,360 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Navient during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $167,000. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Navient by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 12,877 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804 shares in the last quarter. 97.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Navient Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ NAVI opened at $13.47 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $13.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.63. The company has a current ratio of 9.48, a quick ratio of 9.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 1.36. Navient has a 12-month low of $12.73 and a 12-month high of $17.56.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.01). Navient had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 6.69%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Navient will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.75%. Navient’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.17%.

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.