SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target Raised to $32.00

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its target price raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $30.00 to $32.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on SLM from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Compass Point lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.82.

SLM Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of SLM opened at $29.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.27. SLM has a 12 month low of $18.84 and a 12 month high of $31.49. The stock has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a PE ratio of 10.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $27.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.93.

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

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of SLM stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total value of $122,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 43,927 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 331,490 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in SLM by 3,800.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,406,384 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $55,034,000 after purchasing an additional 2,344,691 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 107.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,224,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of SLM by 0.9% in 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 buying an additional 15,252 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

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.