Analysts Set SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) PT at $25.45

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $25.45.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SLM. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in SLM by 3,800.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,406,384 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $55,034,000 after purchasing an additional 2,344,691 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in SLM by 107.1% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,366,642 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $49,202,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,015 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in SLM by 253.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,290,997 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,840,000 after purchasing an additional 926,120 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 23.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,453,521 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $92,589,000 after purchasing an additional 859,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of SLM by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,461,356 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $271,626,000 after purchasing an additional 674,424 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLM opened at $24.20 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $22.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.72. SLM has a 1-year low of $13.93 and a 1-year high of $24.59. The firm has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a PE ratio of 8.43, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.40 million. SLM had a return on equity of 35.92% and a net margin of 22.18%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.11 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that SLM will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is a boost from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.33%.

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.