SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Short Interest Update

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,730,000 shares, a decline of 18.3% from the June 30th total of 10,690,000 shares. Approximately 4.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,680,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.2 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of SLM by 81.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in SLM by 1,812.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 55,391 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,059,000 after buying an additional 52,494 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in SLM by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 101,498 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,941,000 after acquiring an additional 4,449 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in SLM during the 4th quarter worth about $1,785,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter worth about $1,216,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SLM Price Performance

NASDAQ:SLM traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $22.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,836,933 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,940,671. SLM has a twelve month low of $12.26 and a twelve month high of $23.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.85. The company has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.08, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.17.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $783.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $368.97 million. SLM had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 41.84%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that SLM will post 2.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Wedbush lifted their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on SLM from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SLM has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.00.

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.