SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.13 Per Share

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 23rd, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of 0.13 per share by the credit services provider on Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This is an increase from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11.

SLM has raised its dividend by an average of 54.2% per year over the last three years. SLM has a dividend payout ratio of 14.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect SLM to earn $3.01 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 14.6%.

SLM Stock Performance

SLM opened at $22.21 on Friday. SLM has a 12-month low of $12.26 and a 12-month high of $23.95. The company has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.94, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. The company’s 50 day moving average is $21.92 and its 200 day moving average is $21.50.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.30). SLM had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 41.84%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that SLM will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SLM currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total transaction of $102,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 101,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,294,811.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.