Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $11.88 and last traded at $11.83, with a volume of 86258 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $12.98.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NAVI has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Navient from $15.00 to $13.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Navient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen raised shares of Navient from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Navient from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Navient has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.50.

Navient Trading Down 6.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.35, a quick ratio of 9.49 and a current ratio of 9.48. The company’s fifty day moving average is $13.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.34. The company has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.60 and a beta of 1.24.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.01). Navient had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 2.96%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Navient Co. will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.75%. Navient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.17%.

Institutional Trading of Navient

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NAVI. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in Navient by 43.1% in the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 395,948 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,262,000 after purchasing an additional 119,317 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Navient during the 4th quarter worth about $258,000. EMC Capital Management grew its position in shares of Navient by 2,193.7% during the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 20,276 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 19,392 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Navient by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 374,879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,982,000 after purchasing an additional 3,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its holdings in Navient by 156.5% in the 4th quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 247,650 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,291,000 after purchasing an additional 151,086 shares during the period. 97.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.