SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $24.00.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SLM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of SLM from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th.

SLM Stock Up 2.6 %

SLM opened at $20.45 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.96. SLM has a 52 week low of $12.26 and a 52 week high of $23.95. The company has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of 6.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.17. 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 (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.32. SLM had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 41.84%. The business had revenue of $783.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Analysts forecast that SLM will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is 13.75%.

Insider Activity at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of SLM stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total value of $102,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 101,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,294,811.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SLM. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of SLM by 81.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of SLM by 1,812.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 55,391 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,059,000 after buying an additional 52,494 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of SLM by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 101,498 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,941,000 after buying an additional 4,449 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLM during the fourth quarter valued at $1,785,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of SLM during the fourth quarter valued at $1,216,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.