PDT Partners LLC Purchases New Stake in Navient Corporation $NAVI

PDT Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Navient Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVI) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 521,197 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,435,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 3,829 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake 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 valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 4,111 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Navient during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Navient by 39.2% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,228 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Navient by 3,045.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,127 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 4,964 shares in the last quarter. 97.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Navient Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NAVI opened at $9.49 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 10.53, a current ratio of 10.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.73. Navient Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $7.33 and a fifty-two week high of $13.87. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.59. The company has a market cap of $889.97 million, a PE ratio of -18.98 and a beta of 1.18.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.09. Navient had a negative net margin of 1.64% and a positive return on equity of 4.68%. The firm had revenue of $150.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $142.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.20 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Navient Corporation will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.7%. Navient’s payout ratio is currently -128.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NAVI has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Navient in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on Navient from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Navient in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Navient from $9.50 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $9.14.

Navient Company Profile

Navient Corporation (NASDAQ: NAVI) is a specialized provider of asset management and business processing solutions, with a primary focus on student loan servicing. Established in 2014 through the separation from Sallie Mae, Navient assumed responsibility for servicing federal and private education loans, positioning itself as one of the largest servicers of higher education debt in the United States.

The company’s core activities center on federal student loan servicing under contracts with the U.S.