SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.45.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SLM. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point lifted their price objective on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $1,142,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 43,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,233,166.91. This represents a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SLM. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in SLM during the third quarter worth approximately $623,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in SLM during the third quarter worth $224,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in SLM by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,758,057 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,207,000 after buying an additional 15,252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of SLM by 150.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 56,766 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,298,000 after acquiring an additional 34,079 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLM opened at $29.26 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.88. The stock has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. SLM has a 12 month low of $19.39 and a 12 month high of $32.65.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. As a group, analysts predict that SLM will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.62%.

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.