SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.45.

SLM has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point upped their price target on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th.

SLM Stock Performance

SLM stock opened at $29.70 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $29.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The firm has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23. SLM has a 1-year low of $19.39 and a 1-year high of $32.65.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. As a group, research analysts forecast that SLM will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.62%.

Insider Activity at SLM

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLM. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of SLM by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,246,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $338,889,000 after buying an additional 456,415 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of SLM by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,529,496 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $207,664,000 after buying an additional 2,111,699 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of SLM by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,923,576 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $158,342,000 after buying an additional 43,927 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $144,101,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,175,645 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $142,744,000 after purchasing an additional 338,128 shares during the period. 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.