SLM Co. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.11 (NASDAQ:SLM)

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, April 22nd, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th will be given a dividend of 0.11 per share by the credit services provider on Monday, June 17th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%.

SLM has raised its dividend by an average of 54.2% per year over the last three years. SLM has a dividend payout ratio of 15.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect SLM to earn $2.93 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.0%.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLM opened at $21.32 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a PE ratio of 8.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $20.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.06. SLM has a fifty-two week low of $12.26 and a fifty-two week high of $21.94.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $725.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $379.20 million. SLM had a net margin of 20.65% and a return on equity of 36.86%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.33) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that SLM will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other SLM news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total value of $1,949,296.16. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 52,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,093,000.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other SLM news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of SLM stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total transaction of $249,483.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,564,155. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of SLM stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total transaction of $1,949,296.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,093,000.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

SLM declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to buyback $650.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on SLM from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. TheStreet raised SLM from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on SLM in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on SLM from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.32.

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.