Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) to Issue $0.16 Quarterly Dividend

Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, November 15th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.16 per share by the credit services provider on Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th.

Navient has a payout ratio of 42.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Navient to earn $1.46 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 43.8%.

Navient Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:NAVI opened at $15.14 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.22. Navient has a one year low of $13.71 and a one year high of $19.68. The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.94 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.59, a quick ratio of 9.49 and a current ratio of 9.49.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $1.20. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $150.04 million. Navient had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 1.71%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Navient will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NAVI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Navient in a report on Monday, September 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $17.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen cut their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Navient from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Navient from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Navient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.75.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 transaction of $150,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 256,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 is available at this hyperlink. 27.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.