Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Has $20.91 Million Stock Position in Navient Corporation $NAVI

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Navient Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVI) by 790.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,590,339 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,411,662 shares during the quarter. Navient comprises 0.6% of Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Navient were worth $20,913,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Navient by 11.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 98,366 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,243,000 after acquiring an additional 10,296 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Navient by 9.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 210,350 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,657,000 after acquiring an additional 17,483 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Navient by 142.5% during the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 24,710 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 14,519 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in shares of Navient during the second quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in shares of Navient by 5.4% during the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 18,698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 951 shares during the period. 97.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Navient Stock Up 0.9%

NAVI stock opened at $8.13 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $773.08 million, a PE ratio of -9.91 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 9.01, a current ratio of 9.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.94. Navient Corporation has a twelve month low of $7.86 and a twelve month high of $16.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $10.30 and its 200-day moving average is $11.84.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The credit services provider reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $137.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.25 million. Navient had a positive return on equity of 4.70% and a negative net margin of 2.47%.During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.24) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Navient Corporation will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.9%. Navient’s dividend payout ratio is presently -78.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NAVI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $12.00 target price on Navient in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Navient from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Navient from $15.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Navient from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Navient in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price of $11.63.

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.