Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Stock Price

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $32.00 to $33.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the credit services provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 13.75% from the company's current price.

SLM has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays lowered their target price on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on SLM from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SLM currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.82.

SLM Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of SLM stock traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $29.01. 5,580,619 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,019,695. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.21. SLM has a one year low of $18.84 and a one year high of $31.49. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $27.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.29.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a return on equity of 35.92% and a net margin of 22.18%. Sell-side analysts predict that SLM will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of SLM by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,923,576 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $158,342,000 after purchasing an additional 43,927 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in SLM by 7.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,762,328 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $108,936,000 after acquiring an additional 331,490 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $55,034,000 after purchasing an additional 2,344,691 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of SLM by 107.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,366,642 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $49,202,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of SLM by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,758,057 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $40,207,000 after purchasing an additional 15,252 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

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.