Analysts Set SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) PT at $30.73

Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $30.73.

SLM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point boosted their price target on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th.

SLM Price Performance

SLM opened at $32.18 on Tuesday. SLM has a 52 week low of $19.39 and a 52 week high of $32.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $28.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.68.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.21. SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The business had revenue of $374.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $359.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that SLM will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is 18.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total value of $93,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,096,324.25. This trade represents a 7.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in SLM by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 24,657 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $724,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of SLM by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 86.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of SLM by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,935 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in SLM by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 7,800 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.