SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target Raised to $29.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price objective lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $27.00 to $29.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on SLM. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.45.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM opened at $27.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.63, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.21. SLM has a twelve month low of $18.25 and a twelve month high of $28.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $26.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.44.

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

SLM Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. This is a positive change from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.12%.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total transaction of $122,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 83,130 shares in the company, valued at $2,265,292.50. This represents a 5.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in SLM by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,923,576 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $158,342,000 after acquiring an additional 43,927 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLM during the 3rd quarter worth $623,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of SLM in the third quarter worth $3,250,000. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP raised its stake in SLM by 62.9% in the third quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 177,840 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,067,000 after purchasing an additional 68,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in SLM during the third quarter worth about $268,000. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.