Xponance Inc. Raises Stake in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

Xponance Inc. increased its position in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 23,460 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,687 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Navient were worth $312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new position in Navient in the 3rd quarter valued at $174,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Navient in the fourth quarter valued at $167,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in Navient by 12.6% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 14,173 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,587 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Navient during the third quarter worth about $256,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Navient by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 18,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 2,194 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NAVI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Navient from $15.00 to $13.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Navient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Navient from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.90.

Navient Price Performance

Navient stock opened at $13.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 9.49, a current ratio of 9.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $13.78 and a 200-day moving average of $14.46. Navient Co. has a 52-week low of $12.73 and a 52-week high of $17.56.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.01). Navient had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 6.69%. As a group, analysts predict that Navient Co. will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Navient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.17%.

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.