SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Short Interest Down 14.7% in October

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,330,000 shares, a decrease of 14.7% from the September 30th total of 7,420,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,460,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total transaction of $102,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 101,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,294,811.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in SLM by 117.5% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 73,140 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,594,000 after purchasing an additional 39,519 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of SLM by 77.8% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 64,514 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,406,000 after acquiring an additional 28,236 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake in SLM by 50.7% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 290,636 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,042,000 after acquiring an additional 97,832 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in SLM by 3.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 816,274 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,788,000 after purchasing an additional 26,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shikiar Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in SLM by 19.5% during the second quarter. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. now owns 211,350 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,394,000 after purchasing an additional 34,550 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SLM. Bank of America initiated coverage on SLM in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.45.

SLM Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of SLM stock traded up $0.37 on Wednesday, reaching $22.53. 43,457 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,786,120. The company has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.93, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The company has a 50-day moving average of $21.99 and a 200 day moving average of $21.52. SLM has a one year low of $12.90 and a one year high of $23.95.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.30). The business had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.40 million. SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.11 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that SLM will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This is an increase from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is 16.25%.

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.