Stadium Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

Stadium Capital Management LLC increased its position in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 365,069 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,899 shares during the period. Navient makes up 4.1% of Stadium Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Stadium Capital Management LLC owned about 0.34% of Navient worth $4,852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Navient by 815.0% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,443 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Navient during the 4th quarter valued at about $167,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Navient by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 12,877 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804 shares during the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in Navient during the 4th quarter valued at about $196,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Navient by 757.3% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 14,737 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 13,018 shares during the last quarter. 97.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NAVI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Navient from $11.00 to $12.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of Navient from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Navient from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. TD Cowen downgraded Navient from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Navient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.93.

Navient Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ NAVI opened at $13.88 on Friday. Navient Co. has a one year low of $10.53 and a one year high of $16.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.35, a current ratio of 9.48 and a quick ratio of 9.49. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $12.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97 and a beta of 1.38.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.09. Navient had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 2.96%. The firm had revenue of $156.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $150.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Navient Co. will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.61%. Navient’s dividend payout ratio is 128.00%.

About Navient

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.