JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Stock Price

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $27.00 to $29.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price points to a potential upside of 5.84% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $30.00 price target (up from $27.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.45.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $27.40. 472,395 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,188,545. The stock has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.55, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.21. SLM has a twelve month low of $18.25 and a twelve month high of $28.91. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $26.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.44. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.30). SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. The business had revenue of $652.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that SLM will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total transaction of $122,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 83,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,265,292.50. The trade was a 5.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of SLM

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SLM. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC acquired a new stake in SLM in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $298,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of SLM by 62.8% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 112,871 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,347,000 after purchasing an additional 43,542 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in SLM by 2.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,687,920 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $118,248,000 after purchasing an additional 119,342 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in SLM by 6.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 19,292 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227 shares during the period. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in SLM during the 2nd quarter valued at about $340,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.