SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Reaches New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $26.00 to $32.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. SLM traded as high as $28.24 and last traded at $28.04, with a volume of 895127 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.47.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on SLM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $30.00 price target (up previously from $27.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays reduced their target price on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SLM has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 0.6% in the third 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. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in SLM in the 3rd quarter valued at about $623,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its stake in shares of SLM by 50.7% during the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 290,636 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,042,000 after acquiring an additional 97,832 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of SLM during the third quarter worth about $3,250,000. Finally, Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 62.9% in the third quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 177,840 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,067,000 after acquiring an additional 68,642 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $24.80 and a 200 day moving average of $22.62. 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 stock has a market cap of $5.90 billion, a PE ratio of 9.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.21.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released 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 business had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.40 million. SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This is a positive change from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is 18.12%.

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.