Analysts at Citigroup began coverage on shares of SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) in a research report issued on Monday, The Fly reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $17.00 price target on the credit services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s price target points to a potential upside of 45.42% from the stock’s current price.
Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. FBR & Co reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $13.00 price target on shares of SLM in a report on Tuesday, September 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Oppenheimer began coverage on SLM in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $17.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Investment Research raised SLM from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $12.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research note on Friday, October 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. The company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.30.
Shares of SLM (NASDAQ SLM) traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $11.69. The stock had a trading volume of 2,943,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,280,000. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.33. SLM has a 12-month low of $9.65 and a 12-month high of $13.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $5,050.00, a P/E ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 1.32.
In other SLM news, CEO Raymond J. Quinlan sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.52, for a total transaction of $2,304,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,080,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,443,132.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 2,776 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.65, for a total value of $32,340.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 173,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,023,931.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.59% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cadence Capital Management LLC boosted its position in SLM by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Cadence Capital Management LLC now owns 15,538 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. World Asset Management Inc boosted its position in SLM by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. World Asset Management Inc now owns 29,486 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in SLM by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 16,733 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. IBM Retirement Fund boosted its position in SLM by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. IBM Retirement Fund now owns 43,024 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Asset Management Co. boosted its position in shares of SLM by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Capstone Asset Management Co. now owns 54,896 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 99.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
SLM Company Profile
SLM Corporation (Sallie Mae) is the nation’s saving, planning, and paying for college company. Sallie Mae offers products, which promote personal finance including private education loans, Upromise rewards, scholarship search, college financial planning tools, insurance, and online retail banking.
