SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target Raised to $30.00

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price target hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $29.00 to $30.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Compass Point upped their target price on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.82.

SLM Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of SLM stock opened at $29.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. SLM has a 1 year low of $18.84 and a 1 year high of $31.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $27.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.89. The company has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.21.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a return on equity of 35.92% and a net margin of 22.18%. As a group, analysts expect that SLM will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. SLM’s payout ratio is presently 18.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC bought a new position in SLM in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,776,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in SLM by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 39,969 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after buying an additional 8,265 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in SLM by 51.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,565 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 2,916 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of SLM by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter valued at about $262,000. 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.