Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Hits New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Navient Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVI) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $7.25 and last traded at $7.2660, with a volume of 437,375 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $7.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NAVI shares. Zacks Research raised Navient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Navient from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Navient from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Navient in a report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Navient from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.00.

Navient Trading Down 7.8%

The stock has a market cap of $677.65 million, a P/E ratio of 13.63 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 10.53, a quick ratio of 10.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $9.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.85.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.10). Navient had a return on equity of 3.66% and a net margin of 1.79%. The business had revenue of $308.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.92 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.84) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Navient Corporation will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.9%. Navient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 120.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navient

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Navient by 552.6% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,855 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 4,111 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Navient by 325.6% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,005 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 3,829 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Navient during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $72,000. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Navient during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Finally, Greenwood Gearhart LLC purchased a new position in Navient during the first quarter valued at $84,000. 97.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Navient

Navient is a U.S.-focused education finance company whose business has centered on managing student loan portfolios and providing loan servicing. Its services have included payment processing, borrower account support and repayment assistance for federal and private education loans, as well as asset-recovery and business-processing services. The company was formed in 2014 through the separation of SLM Corporation, commonly known as Sallie Mae. Navient later transferred federal student loan servicing operations to other providers, including a transfer to Maximus in 2021 and an agreement to move its remaining federal servicing accounts to MOHELA in 2024.