SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target Raised to $34.00 at Compass Point

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its target price hoisted by Compass Point from $31.00 to $34.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Compass Point currently has a buy rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $30.00 target price (up previously from $27.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on SLM from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.82.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM opened at $29.01 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.21. SLM has a 1 year low of $18.84 and a 1 year high of $31.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. As a group, research analysts predict that SLM will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.12%.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total value of $122,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 83,130 shares in the company, valued at $2,265,292.50. The trade was a 5.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SLM. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 6.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 19,292 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 1,227 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of SLM by 24.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 344,635 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,165,000 after purchasing an additional 67,777 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 4.1% in the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 80,335 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 3,175 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLM in the second quarter worth $2,443,000. Finally, AXA S.A. bought a new stake in SLM during the second quarter valued at $5,046,000. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

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.