AXQ Capital LP Buys New Position in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 14,770 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $196,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Navient by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,822,583 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $24,222,000 after purchasing an additional 109,229 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Navient by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,149,599 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $15,278,000 after buying an additional 10,788 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Navient by 1.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,092,270 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,028,000 after acquiring an additional 19,606 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Navient by 0.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 892,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $13,919,000 after acquiring an additional 8,117 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Navient by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 467,232 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,210,000 after acquiring an additional 22,765 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

Navient Stock Up 0.8 %

NAVI stock opened at $13.43 on Tuesday. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $13.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.50. The stock has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 1.36. Navient Co. has a twelve month low of $12.73 and a twelve month high of $17.56.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts expect that Navient Co. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Navient’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on NAVI shares. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Navient from $15.00 to $13.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Navient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Navient from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.90.

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.