Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Price Target Cut to $16.00 by Analysts at Bank of America

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) had its price target cut by Bank of America from $17.00 to $16.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on NAVI. StockNews.com raised shares of Navient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Navient from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen cut their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Navient from $15.50 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.50.

Navient Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NAVI opened at $13.52 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.59, a quick ratio of 9.49 and a current ratio of 9.49. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.16. Navient has a fifty-two week low of $13.19 and a fifty-two week high of $19.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59 and a beta of 1.40.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $150.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Navient will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Navient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.75%.

Insider Activity

In other Navient news, EVP Stephen M. Hauber sold 10,000 shares of Navient stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 256,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,853,245. The trade was a 3.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 27.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navient

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its position in shares of Navient by 27.8% during the third 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 last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Navient by 12.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,582,928 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $23,047,000 after acquiring an additional 171,160 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $17,028,000 after purchasing an additional 19,606 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings 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 valued at $13,919,000 after purchasing an additional 8,117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Navient by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 444,467 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,929,000 after acquiring an additional 22,646 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

About Navient

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.