SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Sets New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $34.00 to $38.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. SLM traded as high as $31.84 and last traded at $31.60, with a volume of 1499 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $31.43.

SLM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.91.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total value of $1,142,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,233,166.91. This represents a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,708 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $428,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 358.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,399 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 294.9% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 51,248 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after acquiring an additional 38,269 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLM in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 2,187.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 66,254 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,515,000 after acquiring an additional 63,357 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLM Stock Up 2.1 %

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $28.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. On average, equities analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.62%.

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.