SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on the stock from $30.00 to $32.00. The stock had previously closed at $29.30, but opened at $30.64. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the stock. SLM shares last traded at $29.90, with a volume of 898,280 shares trading hands.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Compass Point lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SLM currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total value of $122,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 83,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,265,292.50. The trade was a 5.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SLM. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter worth about $1,776,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in SLM by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 39,969 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after buying an additional 8,265 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in SLM by 51.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,565 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 2,916 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in SLM by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management bought a new position in SLM during the 4th quarter valued at about $262,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLM Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $27.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.83. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.44, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.21.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a return on equity of 35.92% and a net margin of 22.18%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.12%.

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.