SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target Raised to $34.00

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its target price boosted by Compass Point from $31.00 to $34.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages 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 company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $30.00 target price (up from $27.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.82.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM stock opened at $29.01 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.21. SLM has a one year low of $18.84 and a one year high of $31.49. The company’s 50-day moving average is $27.27 and its 200 day moving average is $23.93.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly 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.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 83,130 shares in the company, valued at $2,265,292.50. This trade represents a 5.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised 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 valued at $55,034,000 after acquiring an additional 2,344,691 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in 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 during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in SLM by 253.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,290,997 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,840,000 after purchasing an additional 926,120 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of SLM by 7.5% during the third 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 during the period. Finally, AXA S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the second quarter valued at $5,046,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

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.