SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $24.00.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of SLM from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the company’s 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 owns 101,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,294,811.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in SLM by 1,373.3% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 37.0% in the 1st quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 39.5% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in SLM by 78.6% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,962 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLM Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of SLM stock opened at $22.07 on Monday. SLM has a 52-week low of $12.26 and a 52-week high of $23.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.24. The firm has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a PE ratio of 6.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.15.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $783.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $368.97 million. SLM had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 41.84%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that SLM will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is 13.75%.

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.