Wells Fargo & Company Raises SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target to $33.00

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price objective boosted by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $32.00 to $33.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 13.75% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on SLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. 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. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.82.

SLM Stock Performance

NASDAQ SLM opened at $29.01 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.11, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.21. SLM has a 1-year low of $18.84 and a 1-year high of $31.49.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. Sell-side analysts expect that SLM will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 83,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,265,292.50. The trade was a 5.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of SLM by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,923,576 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $158,342,000 after purchasing an additional 43,927 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of SLM by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,762,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $108,936,000 after buying an additional 331,490 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 3,800.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,406,384 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $55,034,000 after acquiring an additional 2,344,691 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of SLM by 107.1% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,366,642 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $49,202,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224,015 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in SLM by 0.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,758,057 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,207,000 after purchasing an additional 15,252 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.