SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Given New $28.00 Price Target at Wedbush

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at Wedbush from $26.00 to $28.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 26.70% from the company’s previous close.

SLM has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on SLM from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of SLM from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. TheStreet upgraded shares of SLM from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of SLM from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $23.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.95.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM opened at $22.10 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of 9.21, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.16. SLM has a 1 year low of $12.26 and a 1 year high of $22.20. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $20.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.14.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.18. SLM had a net margin of 20.65% and a return on equity of 36.86%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that SLM will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

SLM declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to buyback $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total transaction of $1,949,296.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 52,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,093,000.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other SLM news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total transaction of $1,949,296.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 52,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,093,000.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total value of $249,483.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,564,155. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of SLM by 51.9% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,632 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,925 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC raised its stake in shares of SLM by 54.5% in the third quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 33,187 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 11,706 shares during the last quarter. Arnhold LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 5.7% during the third quarter. Arnhold LLC now owns 1,662,736 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $22,646,000 after purchasing an additional 89,315 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of SLM during the third quarter valued at $310,000. Finally, Strs Ohio increased its holdings in SLM by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 73,075 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $995,000 after buying an additional 12,988 shares in the last quarter. 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.