Investors Purchase High Volume of SLM Put Options (NASDAQ:SLM)

SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 4,741 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 295% compared to the average volume of 1,200 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SLM. Wall Street Zen raised SLM from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $37.00 price target on SLM in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target (down from $38.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of SLM from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of SLM from $40.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.20.

SLM Price Performance

NASDAQ:SLM opened at $27.37 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $27.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.10. The firm has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.60, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.14. SLM has a 52-week low of $23.81 and a 52-week high of $34.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 14th. The credit services provider reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter. SLM had a net margin of 21.76% and a return on equity of 30.13%. The company had revenue of ($3.44) million during the quarter. SLM has set its FY 2022 guidance at $2.800-$3.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that SLM will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 4th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 4th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Informed Momentum Co LLC acquired a new stake in SLM during the 1st quarter worth about $4,190,000. SouthState Corp increased its position in shares of SLM by 108.3% in the first quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 61,449 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,805,000 after acquiring an additional 31,949 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 0.6% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,654,575 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $77,965,000 after acquiring an additional 15,662 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLM in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $15,544,000. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new position in SLM in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,392,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

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.