KBC Group NV Acquires 1,392 Shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

KBC Group NV grew its stake in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) by 47.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,355 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,392 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Navient were worth $68,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NAVI. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Navient by 4.1% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 16,794 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Navient by 1.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 46,534 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Navient by 22.1% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in Navient by 2.7% during the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 45,584 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $711,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in Navient by 11.5% in the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 13,944 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

Navient Stock Performance

NAVI opened at $15.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.59, a current ratio of 9.49 and a quick ratio of 9.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.20. Navient Co. has a 1 year low of $13.71 and a 1 year high of $19.68. The company has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of 22.28 and a beta of 1.39.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $1.20. Navient had a net margin of 1.71% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $150.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Navient Co. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.16%. Navient’s payout ratio is 92.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Navient from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on Navient from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Navient from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Navient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Navient in a report on Monday, September 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $17.00 price target for the company. Three research 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.75.

Insider Activity at Navient

In other Navient news, EVP Stephen M. Hauber sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 256,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,853,245. This trade represents a 3.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 27.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.