Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.29 EPS

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The credit services provider reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.29), Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $137.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.25 million. Navient had a positive return on equity of 4.12% and a negative net margin of 1.48%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.24) earnings per share.

Navient Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NAVI traded down $1.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $10.92. 444,086 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 736,618. The company’s 50-day moving average is $12.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.98, a current ratio of 9.41 and a quick ratio of 9.41. Navient has a 1 year low of $10.53 and a 1 year high of $16.07. The company has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.09 and a beta of 1.29.

Navient Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.9%. Navient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -118.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Navient by 77.0% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 7,766 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 3,378 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Navient during the third quarter valued at approximately $143,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Navient by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 18,372 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 1,168 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of Navient by 88.7% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 20,894 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 9,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Navient by 59.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,560 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 8,015 shares during the period. 97.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen restated a “sell” rating on shares of Navient in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Navient in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Navient from $14.00 to $12.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Navient from $15.00 to $14.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Navient from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Navient has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus target price of $12.57.

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.