SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,330,000 shares, a drop of 14.7% from the September 30th total of 7,420,000 shares. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,460,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Insider Activity at SLM

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total transaction of $102,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 101,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,294,811.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SLM. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in SLM by 1,373.3% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in SLM during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in SLM by 358.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,399 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in SLM in the second quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in SLM by 378.1% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,050 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 2,412 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLM traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $22.35. 2,101,400 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,795,198. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.01, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.15. The company's 50-day moving average price is $21.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.27. SLM has a 1-year low of $12.81 and a 1-year high of $23.95.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.30). SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. The company had revenue of $652.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.40 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that SLM will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. This is an increase from SLM's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. SLM's payout ratio is currently 16.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on SLM. Barclays cut their target price on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $25.45.

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.