SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Receives $31.82 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.30.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up previously from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays upped their target price on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th.

SLM Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ SLM opened at $32.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.04. SLM has a 52 week low of $19.39 and a 52 week high of $34.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.32.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $374.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $359.83 million. SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that SLM will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.71%.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 35,195 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,324.25. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SLM. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of SLM by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,246,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $338,889,000 after purchasing an additional 456,415 shares in the last quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLM in the first quarter valued at $277,704,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of SLM by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,529,496 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $207,664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111,699 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of SLM by 2.9% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,325,274 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $156,403,000 after purchasing an additional 149,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter valued at $144,101,000. 98.94% of the stock is currently 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.