Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Shares Cross Below 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) passed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $15.06 and traded as low as $13.04. Navient shares last traded at $13.08, with a volume of 961,755 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NAVI. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Navient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Navient from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Navient from $15.50 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Navient from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Navient presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.43.

Navient Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 9.49, a current ratio of 9.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.59. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $14.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.06. The stock has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Navient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Navient’s payout ratio is presently 92.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Navient news, EVP Stephen M. Hauber sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 256,883 shares in the company, valued at $3,853,245. This trade represents a 3.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 27.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Navient

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NAVI. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Navient by 47.0% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,355 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Navient during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Navient during the 3rd quarter valued at $95,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Navient by 24.6% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 7,360 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Navient during the second quarter worth $121,000. 97.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.