Jefferies Financial Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Stock Price

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) had its price target decreased by Jefferies Financial Group from $14.00 to $12.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 9.19% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Navient from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Navient from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Navient from $13.50 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Navient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Navient presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.83.

Navient Stock Performance

NAVI traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $10.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 246,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 788,171. Navient has a fifty-two week low of $10.53 and a fifty-two week high of $16.97. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.97. The company has a current ratio of 9.48, a quick ratio of 9.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 9.47 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navient

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Navient by 43.1% during the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 395,948 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,262,000 after buying an additional 119,317 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Navient during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $258,000. 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. EMC Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Navient by 2,193.7% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 20,276 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 19,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Navient by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 374,879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,982,000 after buying an additional 3,445 shares during the period. 97.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.