SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) PT Lowered to $26.00 at Barclays

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price target decreased by Barclays from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on SLM. Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of SLM from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.67.

SLM Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SLM opened at $21.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a PE ratio of 6.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. SLM has a 12-month low of $12.26 and a 12-month high of $23.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $21.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.50.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 41.84% and a net margin of 24.67%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.11 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that SLM will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This is a positive change from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total value of $102,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 101,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,294,811.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in SLM by 3,800.6% in the third 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 increased its position 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 valued at $49,202,000 after buying an additional 1,224,015 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of SLM by 253.8% in 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 buying an additional 926,120 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in SLM by 23.9% during 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 buying an additional 859,625 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in SLM by 5.7% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,461,356 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $271,626,000 after acquiring an additional 674,424 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.