SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $27.27.

SLM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $30.00 target price (up previously from $27.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

SLM Stock Up 0.1 %

SLM stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $27.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,702,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,923,422. SLM has a 52-week low of $18.04 and a 52-week high of $28.24. The company has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a PE ratio of 9.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm's 50 day moving average is $25.54 and its 200 day moving average is $23.04.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $652.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that SLM will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a $0.13 dividend. This is a positive change from SLM's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.12%.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total transaction of $122,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 83,130 shares in the company, valued at $2,265,292.50. This represents a 5.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of SLM by 2.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 669,263 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $15,306,000 after acquiring an additional 18,470 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in SLM by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 415,607 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $9,596,000 after purchasing an additional 108,463 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in SLM in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,797,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in SLM in the 3rd quarter worth $655,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,762,328 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $108,936,000 after purchasing an additional 331,490 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is owned by 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.