Investors Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on SLM (NASDAQ:SLM)

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders bought 5,628 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 458% compared to the average daily volume of 1,008 put options.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM stock opened at $29.93 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $29.54 and its 200 day moving average is $26.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The firm has a market cap of $6.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.29, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23. SLM has a 52-week low of $19.39 and a 52-week high of $32.65.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that SLM will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is 19.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total value of $1,142,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 43,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,233,166.91. This trade represents a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in SLM in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $144,101,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter valued at $140,442,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter worth $76,362,000. Duquesne Family Office LLC purchased a new position in SLM during the 4th quarter worth $69,509,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in SLM in the fourth quarter valued at about $68,603,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Compass Point raised their price target on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SLM presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.45.

SLM Company Profile

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.