Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Reaffirms "Market Perform" Rating for SLM (NASDAQ:SLM)

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed their market perform rating on shares of SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) in a report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a $30.00 target price on the credit services provider's stock, up from their prior target price of $27.00.

SLM has been the topic of several other research reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price target 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 target price on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America assumed coverage on SLM in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $26.00.

SLM Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of SLM stock traded down $0.48 on Monday, reaching $26.09. 1,643,907 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,851,803. The company has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.21. SLM has a 52 week low of $16.79 and a 52 week high of $28.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm's 50-day moving average is $23.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.21.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last released 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 company 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 period last year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that SLM will post 2.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. This is an increase from SLM's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 83,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,265,292.50. The trade was a 5.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted 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 worth $55,034,000 after buying an additional 2,344,691 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in SLM by 107.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,366,642 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $49,202,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224,015 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in SLM by 253.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,290,997 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $26,840,000 after purchasing an additional 926,120 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in 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 worth $92,589,000 after purchasing an additional 859,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of SLM by 69.1% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,002,825 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $20,849,000 after purchasing an additional 409,624 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.