Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. Takes Position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 9,788 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SLM. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in SLM during the third quarter worth $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in SLM by 358.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,399 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,094 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in SLM during the third quarter worth $35,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in SLM during the second quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in SLM by 110.3% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 2,310 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SLM shares. Barclays decreased their price target on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on SLM in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, SLM presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.45.

SLM Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ SLM opened at $27.88 on Tuesday. SLM Co. has a one year low of $14.03 and a one year high of $28.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $23.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a PE ratio of 9.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.16.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.40 million. SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 2.73 EPS for the current year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is a boost from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is 15.33%.

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.