SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target Raised to $23.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price objective hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $22.00 to $23.00 in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

SLM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. TheStreet raised SLM from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup raised SLM from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the company from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on SLM from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on SLM from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLM presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $21.32.

SLM Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of SLM stock opened at $21.90 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.27. SLM has a 52-week low of $12.26 and a 52-week high of $22.37. The firm has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a PE ratio of 6.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.18. SLM had a return on equity of 45.65% and a net margin of 25.15%. The business had revenue of $837.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $376.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. On average, analysts predict that SLM will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is presently 13.75%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,093,000.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,093,000.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total value of $249,483.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,564,155. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLM. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in SLM by 967.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,923,491 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,818,000 after buying an additional 2,649,626 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in SLM in the 4th quarter valued at $42,108,000. Boston Partners grew its holdings in SLM by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 11,786,932 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $225,574,000 after buying an additional 1,969,885 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in SLM by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,136,784 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $633,575,000 after buying an additional 1,151,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polaris Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in SLM by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. Polaris Capital Management LLC now owns 2,445,400 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $46,756,000 after buying an additional 622,400 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.