Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Reaches New 1-Year Low Following Weak Earnings

Navient Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVI) hit a new 52-week low on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $9.77 and last traded at $9.81, with a volume of 2644847 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.04.

The credit services provider reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $137.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $144.25 million. Navient had a negative net margin of 1.48% and a positive return on equity of 4.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.24) EPS. Navient has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.650-0.800 EPS.

Navient Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.5%. Navient’s dividend payout ratio is currently -118.52%.

Navient News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Navient this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management is emphasizing growth and a transition away from legacy credit servicing, signaling longer‑term revenue diversification that could improve multiple expansion if executed. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Cost control and lower provisions helped results, providing some operational leverage that offset other headwinds. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Full details from the Q4 call and presentation are available (transcript and slides) for investors wanting management’s read on loan performance, capital allocation and growth plans. Read More. • Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Reported quarterly results missed some aggregate expectations: revenue of $137.0M vs. a ~$144.3M consensus and headline EPS that, by some press summaries, materially missed consensus — a key reason for today’s negative reaction. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Management set FY‑2026 EPS guidance of $0.65–$0.80, well below sell‑side consensus (~$1.18), increasing downside risk for near‑term earnings expectations and valuation. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Net interest and other income declined year‑over‑year, removing a major revenue driver and prompting a sharp share decline and heavy trading volume as investors re‑price NAVI’s earnings power. Read More.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NAVI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Navient from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Navient from $14.00 to $12.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Navient from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $12.00 price target on Navient in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Navient from $15.00 to $14.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Navient has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus price target of $12.29.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navient

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Navient by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,021,710 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $28,506,000 after buying an additional 66,814 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Navient by 142.5% in the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 24,710 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 14,519 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Navient by 4,721.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,583 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,533,000 after acquiring an additional 114,165 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new position in Navient during the second quarter worth about $288,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of Navient by 466.0% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 92,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,306,000 after buying an additional 76,234 shares during the period. 97.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Navient Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $956.57 million, a P/E ratio of -18.17 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.80. The company has a quick ratio of 9.41, a current ratio of 9.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.98.

About Navient

Navient Corporation (NASDAQ: NAVI) is a specialized provider of asset management and business processing solutions, with a primary focus on student loan servicing. Established in 2014 through the separation from Sallie Mae, Navient assumed responsibility for servicing federal and private education loans, positioning itself as one of the largest servicers of higher education debt in the United States.

The company’s core activities center on federal student loan servicing under contracts with the U.S.