Sterling Capital Management LLC Has $32,000 Stake in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) by 815.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,443 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,176 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Navient were worth $32,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Navient by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,315,841 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,488,000 after purchasing an additional 423,013 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Navient by 143.0% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 356,405 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,737,000 after buying an additional 209,744 shares during the period. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Navient in the 4th quarter valued at $2,525,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Navient by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 555,634 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,384,000 after buying an additional 188,399 shares during the period. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in Navient during the fourth quarter worth about $2,245,000. 97.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Navient Stock Down 0.7 %

Navient stock opened at $11.83 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.85. The company has a current ratio of 9.48, a quick ratio of 9.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.35. Navient Co. has a 1-year low of $10.53 and a 1-year high of $16.97. The company has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 1.24.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.01). Navient had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 6.69%. Research analysts anticipate that Navient Co. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Navient’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NAVI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Navient from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Navient from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Navient from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Navient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, TD Cowen raised Navient from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Navient has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.83.

Navient 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.