SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Reaches New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $26.00 to $32.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. SLM traded as high as $28.24 and last traded at $28.04, with a volume of 895127 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.47.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays reduced their price objective on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total transaction of $122,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 83,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,265,292.50. This represents a 5.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SLM. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in SLM during the third quarter worth $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLM during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of SLM by 358.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,399 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,094 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of SLM in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLM in the 2nd quarter worth about $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Stock Up 1.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $24.80 and its 200 day moving average is $22.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.90 billion, a PE ratio of 9.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.21.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.30). SLM had a return on equity of 35.92% and a net margin of 22.18%. The business had revenue of $652.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. This is a positive change from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.12%.

About SLM

SLM Corporation, through its subsidiaries, originates and services private education loans to students and their families to finance the cost of their education in the United States. It is also involved in the provision of retail deposit accounts, including certificates of deposit, money market accounts, and high-yield savings accounts; and interest-bearing omnibus accounts.