SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target Increased to $25.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price objective upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $23.00 to $25.00 in a research report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush lifted their price objective on SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $23.73.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM opened at $23.00 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.19, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $21.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67. SLM has a twelve month low of $12.26 and a twelve month high of $23.95.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.32. SLM had a return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 24.67%. The company had revenue of $783.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $368.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that SLM will post 2.78 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in SLM by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 7,891 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of SLM by 81.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of SLM by 3.1% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 21,959 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of SLM by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,330 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.