GSA Capital Partners LLP Makes New Investment in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 50,258 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,149,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SLM. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in SLM by 46.8% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,903 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 21,959 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $478,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in SLM by 77.8% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 64,514 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,406,000 after buying an additional 28,236 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in SLM in the 1st quarter valued at about $216,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its position in SLM by 0.3% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 402,088 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $8,761,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SLM. Barclays lowered their target price on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $25.45.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of SLM stock traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $24.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,385,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,790,487. SLM Co. has a fifty-two week low of $13.93 and a fifty-two week high of $24.59. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $22.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The company has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.53, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.16.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $652.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.40 million. SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This is an increase from SLM's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. SLM's dividend payout ratio 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.