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

Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $29.82.

A number of research firms have commented on SLM. Barclays decreased their price target on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

SLM Stock Performance

NASDAQ SLM opened at $29.01 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The stock has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a PE ratio of 10.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.21. SLM has a twelve month low of $18.84 and a twelve month high of $31.49.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 35.92% and a net margin of 22.18%. Equities analysts anticipate that SLM will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. SLM’s payout ratio is currently 19.62%.

Insider Activity at SLM

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the company’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 value of $122,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 83,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,265,292.50. This represents a 5.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,227 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 24.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of SLM by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 80,335 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 3,175 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in SLM during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,443,000. Finally, AXA S.A. acquired a new position in SLM during the second quarter worth approximately $5,046,000. Hedge funds and other 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.