JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target to $30.00

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price objective upped by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $29.00 to $30.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 0.23% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on SLM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Compass Point lifted their price target on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, SLM presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.27.

SLM Price Performance

SLM stock traded up $0.63 on Friday, reaching $29.93. The company had a trading volume of 3,081,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,706,246. 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’s fifty day moving average is $27.18 and its 200 day moving average is $23.83. The company has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.43, 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. On average, research analysts forecast that SLM will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at SLM

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SLM. State Street Corp grew 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 worth $158,342,000 after buying an additional 43,927 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of SLM during the third quarter worth about $623,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in SLM in the third quarter worth about $3,250,000. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in SLM by 62.9% in the third quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 177,840 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,067,000 after buying an additional 68,642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in SLM during the third quarter valued at approximately $268,000. 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.