SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Research Coverage Started at Bank of America

Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) in a report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $27.00 price target on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on SLM. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of SLM from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $24.00.

SLM Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of SLM opened at $22.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. SLM has a 52 week low of $12.26 and a 52 week high of $23.95. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.28.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.32. SLM had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 41.84%. The company had revenue of $783.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that SLM will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of SLM stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total transaction of $102,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 101,093 shares in the company, valued at $2,294,811.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in SLM by 37.0% in the 1st quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 494 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in SLM by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 21,959 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 26,541 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 772 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in SLM by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 99,739 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,907,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in SLM by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,017 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 990 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is 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.