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

Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $24.83.

SLM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of SLM from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on SLM from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of SLM opened at $23.64 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $21.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. SLM has a twelve month low of $12.26 and a twelve month high of $23.95. The company has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.15.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $783.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.97 million. SLM had a return on equity of 41.84% and a net margin of 24.67%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that SLM will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.71%.

Insider Activity at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total transaction of $102,150.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 101,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,294,811.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in SLM by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 333,391 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,374,000 after acquiring an additional 66,007 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in SLM by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,136,784 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $633,575,000 after buying an additional 1,151,557 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in SLM by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 17,781 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 1,311 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in SLM during the 4th quarter worth approximately $583,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 59.0% during the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 593,201 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $12,926,000 after acquiring an additional 220,154 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.