SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $33.92 and last traded at $33.77, with a volume of 173565 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on SLM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $33.00 price objective (up previously from $31.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.18.

SLM Stock Down 0.6%

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $29.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.23. The firm has a market cap of $7.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.21. SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The company had revenue of $374.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.83 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is currently 18.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $93,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,096,324.25. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SLM

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of SLM during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 86.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the first quarter valued at $45,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in SLM by 37.7% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in SLM by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. 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.