Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Price Target Raised to $8.50

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) had its target price lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $8.00 to $8.50 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Navient in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Barclays decreased their price target on Navient from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Navient in a research report on Friday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Navient presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.17.

Navient Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ NAVI opened at $9.26 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $9.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.72. The company has a current ratio of 10.53, a quick ratio of 10.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.73. Navient has a 12-month low of $7.33 and a 12-month high of $13.48. The company has a market cap of $868.44 million, a P/E ratio of -18.52 and a beta of 1.15.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.09. Navient had a positive return on equity of 4.68% and a negative net margin of 1.64%. The company had revenue of $150.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $142.87 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.20 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Navient will post 0.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. Navient’s payout ratio is currently -128.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navient

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Navient by 0.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 322,085 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,635,000 after buying an additional 1,354 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Navient by 4.4% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 38,948 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Navient by 10.5% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 30,707 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 2,920 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd raised its holdings in Navient by 32.8% in the second quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 13,400 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 3,309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Navient by 325.6% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,005 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 3,829 shares during the last quarter. 97.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Navient Company Profile

Navient Corporation is a financial services company that provides education finance and loan management solutions. Its activities include servicing and managing private education loans and federally backed loans held in its portfolio, as well as providing related customer support, payment processing and account administration services.

The company was formed in 2014 through the separation of Sallie Mae’s education-lending and loan-servicing businesses. Navient formerly serviced a significant portion of the federal student loan portfolio, but it exited the U.S.