Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $14.75, but opened at $14.21. Navient shares last traded at $14.15, with a volume of 112,691 shares traded.

The credit services provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.01). Navient had a net margin of 1.71% and a return on equity of 8.62%.

Navient Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.48%. Navient’s dividend payout ratio is 92.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NAVI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Navient from $15.00 to $13.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Navient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America dropped their target price 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. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Navient from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.58.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Stephen M. Hauber sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 256,883 shares in the company, valued at $3,853,245. This trade represents a 3.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 27.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Navient

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Navient during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,398,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Navient in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $511,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Navient in the second quarter valued at $2,327,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Navient during the third quarter worth $714,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in Navient by 59.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 284,130 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,429,000 after acquiring an additional 105,454 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

Navient Trading Down 3.3 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.01. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.68 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 9.49, a current ratio of 9.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.59.

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.