SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $23.98 and last traded at $23.95, with a volume of 877078 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America assumed coverage on SLM in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SLM has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.45.

SLM Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $22.05 and a 200-day moving average of $21.56. The firm has a market cap of $5.20 billion, a PE ratio of 8.27, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.40 million. SLM had a return on equity of 35.92% and a net margin of 22.18%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. This is a boost from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.33%.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SLM. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 3,800.6% during 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 buying an additional 2,344,691 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 107.1% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,366,642 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $49,202,000 after buying an additional 1,224,015 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 253.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,290,997 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,840,000 after buying an additional 926,120 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,453,521 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $92,589,000 after buying an additional 859,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,461,356 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $271,626,000 after buying an additional 674,424 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.