Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Sets New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Navient Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVI) reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday after Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as low as $7.25 and last traded at $7.2660, with a volume of 437,375 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $7.84.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Navient in a research report on Monday, September 21st. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Navient from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Navient from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Navient from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Navient currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $8.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navient

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of Navient during the third quarter valued at approximately $20,711,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Navient by 286.7% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 4,223 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 3,131 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Navient by 574.2% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 834,682 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,571,000 after acquiring an additional 710,875 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Navient during the 3rd quarter valued at $98,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Navient by 72.7% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 12,247 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 5,157 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

Navient Trading Down 12.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.37, a quick ratio of 10.53 and a current ratio of 7.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $555.18 million, a PE ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.79.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.10). Navient had a return on equity of 3.65% and a net margin of 1.79%. The company had revenue of $308.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $144.92 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.84) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Navient Corporation will post 0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. Navient’s payout ratio is presently 120.75%.

About Navient

Navient is a U.S.-focused education finance company whose business has centered on managing student loan portfolios and providing loan servicing. Its services have included payment processing, borrower account support and repayment assistance for federal and private education loans, as well as asset-recovery and business-processing services. The company was formed in 2014 through the separation of SLM Corporation, commonly known as Sallie Mae. Navient later transferred federal student loan servicing operations to other providers, including a transfer to Maximus in 2021 and an agreement to move its remaining federal servicing accounts to MOHELA in 2024.