SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $24.00.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wedbush upped their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of SLM from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th.

SLM Stock Performance

SLM stock opened at $20.62 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $21.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. SLM has a 52 week low of $12.26 and a 52 week high of $23.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.44, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.17.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.32. SLM had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 41.84%. The business had revenue of $783.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $368.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that SLM will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total value of $102,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 101,093 shares in the company, valued at $2,294,811.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in SLM by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,136,784 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $633,575,000 after buying an additional 1,151,557 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of SLM by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,461,356 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $271,626,000 after acquiring an additional 674,424 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in SLM by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,473,007 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $123,767,000 after purchasing an additional 170,764 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in SLM by 23.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,453,521 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $92,589,000 after purchasing an additional 859,625 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in SLM by 186.3% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,517,251 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $54,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,638,003 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About SLM

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.