Wedbush Lowers SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target to $26.00

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its target price lowered by analysts at Wedbush from $29.00 to $26.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Wedbush’s price target suggests a potential upside of 18.99% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on SLM. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of SLM from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.00.

SLM Trading Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ:SLM opened at $21.85 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.83, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $21.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.26. SLM has a 52 week low of $12.26 and a 52 week high of $23.95.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $783.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $368.97 million. SLM had a return on equity of 41.84% and a net margin of 24.67%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that SLM will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of SLM stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total transaction of $102,150.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 101,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,294,811.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SLM. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of SLM by 117.5% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 73,140 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,594,000 after purchasing an additional 39,519 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its position in SLM by 19.6% during the first quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 594,514 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $12,954,000 after purchasing an additional 97,442 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in SLM by 59.0% during the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 593,201 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $12,926,000 after purchasing an additional 220,154 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of SLM by 77.8% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 64,514 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,406,000 after buying an additional 28,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 50.7% in the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 290,636 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,042,000 after buying an additional 97,832 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.