Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.05 EPS

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The credit services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.05, reports. The business had revenue of $163.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.04 million. Navient had a net margin of 3.93% and a return on equity of 12.09%. Navient updated its FY 2024 guidance to 1.550-1.750 EPS.

Navient Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ NAVI traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $15.72. 766,480 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 850,227. Navient has a 12-month low of $14.10 and a 12-month high of $19.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.38, a quick ratio of 13.63 and a current ratio of 12.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $16.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.09. The firm has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.08 and a beta of 1.38.

Navient Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Navient’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

Insider Activity at Navient

In other news, EVP Mark L. Heleen sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.20, for a total transaction of $172,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 385,577 shares in the company, valued at $6,631,924.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 27.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navient

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Navient in the fourth quarter worth about $2,441,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Navient in the fourth quarter worth about $13,546,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Navient by 7.4% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,138,526 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $19,605,000 after buying an additional 78,186 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of Navient by 207.8% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 231,186 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,320,000 after buying an additional 156,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Navient by 21.9% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 196,938 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,395,000 after buying an additional 35,386 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on NAVI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Navient from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Navient from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Navient in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Navient from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.10.

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.