AlphaQuest LLC Raises Stake in Navient Corporation $NAVI

AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of Navient Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVI) by 140.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 104,658 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 61,090 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Navient were worth $1,361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NAVI. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Navient by 70.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,978 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Navient by 39.2% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,228 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Navient by 88.0% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 5,754 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 2,693 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Navient during the 4th quarter worth $86,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Navient by 77.0% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 7,766 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 3,378 shares in the last quarter. 97.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Navient Price Performance

Navient stock opened at $8.31 on Friday. Navient Corporation has a 52 week low of $7.80 and a 52 week high of $16.07. The company has a quick ratio of 7.67, a current ratio of 7.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.49. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $781.06 million, a PE ratio of -13.19 and a beta of 1.24.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.03. Navient had a positive return on equity of 4.39% and a negative net margin of 1.94%.The firm had revenue of $152.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $141.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Navient Corporation will post 0.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.7%. Navient’s dividend payout ratio is presently -101.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on NAVI. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Navient from $12.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Navient from $15.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on Navient from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America began coverage on Navient in a research note on Monday, April 20th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $7.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Navient from $10.50 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Navient presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $9.29.

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.