SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $24.61 and last traded at $24.61, with a volume of 80394 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.97.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SLM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SLM has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.45.

SLM Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.35, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $22.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.74.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.30). SLM had a return on equity of 35.92% and a net margin of 22.18%. The company had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.11 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This is a boost from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. SLM’s payout ratio is currently 15.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in shares of SLM by 110.0% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 39,144 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $835,000 after purchasing an additional 20,502 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in SLM by 378.1% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,050 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 2,412 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in SLM by 9.9% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,017 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 990 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 156.7% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 168,630 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,674,000 after purchasing an additional 102,928 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in SLM by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 816,274 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,788,000 after purchasing an additional 26,064 shares during the period. 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.