Navient Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:NAVI)

Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 5,501 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 2,610% compared to the average volume of 203 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NAVI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Navient from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Navient from $13.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Navient from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Navient currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.10.

Navient Trading Down 2.1 %

NAVI stock traded down $0.31 on Friday, reaching $14.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 568,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 896,399. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.67. Navient has a 12-month low of $13.96 and a 12-month high of $19.69. The firm has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a PE ratio of 9.14 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.38, a quick ratio of 12.52 and a current ratio of 12.52.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $163.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.04 million. Navient had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 3.93%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Navient will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Navient’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Navient

In other Navient news, EVP Mark L. Heleen sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.00, for a total transaction of $160,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 393,611 shares in the company, valued at $6,297,776. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 27.99% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navient

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NAVI. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its position in Navient by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,586,501 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $66,781,000 after buying an additional 858,890 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd purchased a new position in Navient during the fourth quarter valued at $13,546,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Navient during the first quarter valued at $4,813,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Navient by 90.9% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 386,379 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,723,000 after acquiring an additional 183,969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of Navient by 207.8% during the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 231,186 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,320,000 after acquiring an additional 156,086 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

Navient Company Profile

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.