Analysts Set SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) PT at $24.00

Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $24.00.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SLM. TD Cowen upped their price objective on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Finally, 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.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total value of $102,150.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 101,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,294,811.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in SLM by 1,373.3% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the period. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC raised its position in SLM by 37.0% during the 1st quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of SLM by 39.5% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 843 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 78.6% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,962 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Price Performance

NASDAQ SLM opened at $22.56 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. SLM has a 12 month low of $12.26 and a 12 month high of $23.95. The stock has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.05, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50 day moving average is $21.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.28.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $783.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.97 million. SLM had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 41.84%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that SLM will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is 13.75%.

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.