Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Share Price Passes Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-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 trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on NAVI. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Navient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on Navient from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Navient from $15.50 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Navient from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.83.

Navient Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $14.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.03. The stock has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 9.49, a current ratio of 9.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.59.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $1.20. Navient had a net margin of 1.71% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $150.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Navient Co. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.94%. Navient’s payout ratio is 92.75%.

Insider Transactions at Navient

In other Navient news, EVP Stephen M. Hauber sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,853,245. This trade represents a 3.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 27.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Navient

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Navient during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,398,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Navient during the third quarter worth approximately $511,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Navient during the second quarter worth approximately $2,327,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Navient by 59.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 284,130 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,429,000 after purchasing an additional 105,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Navient during the 3rd quarter valued at $714,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

About Navient

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.