AXQ Capital LP Acquires Shares of 14,770 Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

AXQ Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 14,770 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $196,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in Navient by 13.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 18,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 2,194 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Navient during the third quarter worth about $714,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Navient during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,398,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Navient by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,092,270 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,028,000 after buying an additional 19,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Navient by 82.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 38,323 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $597,000 after buying an additional 17,349 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America decreased their target price on Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on 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 raised shares of Navient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Navient from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.90.

Navient Price Performance

NASDAQ:NAVI opened at $13.43 on Tuesday. Navient Co. has a 52 week low of $12.73 and a 52 week high of $17.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $13.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.50. The company has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 9.49, a current ratio of 9.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.35.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share (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%. Equities analysts expect that Navient Co. will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.77%. Navient’s payout ratio is currently 55.17%.

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.