SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target Raised to $30.00

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price target upped by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $29.00 to $30.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 0.23% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Compass Point lifted their price target on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, SLM presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.27.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of SLM traded up $0.63 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $29.93. The stock had a trading volume of 3,081,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,706,246. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $27.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.83. SLM has a 52 week low of $18.84 and a 52 week high of $31.49. The company has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a return on equity of 35.92% and a net margin of 22.18%. On average, analysts forecast that SLM will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of SLM stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total value of $122,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 83,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,265,292.50. This trade represents a 5.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,923,576 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $158,342,000 after buying an additional 43,927 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in SLM by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,762,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $108,936,000 after purchasing an additional 331,490 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in SLM by 3,800.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,406,384 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $55,034,000 after purchasing an additional 2,344,691 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in SLM by 107.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,366,642 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $49,202,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of SLM by 0.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,758,057 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,207,000 after buying an additional 15,252 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

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.