SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target Raised to $25.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price target boosted by Royal Bank of Canada from $24.00 to $25.00 in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a buy rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of SLM from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of SLM from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SLM presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $21.32.

SLM Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of SLM traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $21.86. The stock had a trading volume of 1,029,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,141,878. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. SLM has a 52-week low of $12.26 and a 52-week high of $22.37. The business’s fifty day moving average is $20.91 and its 200 day moving average is $18.17. The firm has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.16.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $837.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $376.43 million. SLM had a net margin of 25.15% and a return on equity of 47.72%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that SLM will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to repurchase $650.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total transaction of $249,483.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,564,155. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total transaction of $249,483.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,564,155. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total value of $1,949,296.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 52,751 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,000.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLM during the fourth quarter valued at $1,785,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in SLM during the third quarter worth about $713,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in SLM by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 10,266 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in SLM by 25.5% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 155,595 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,092,000 after acquiring an additional 31,595 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in SLM by 31.2% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 684,103 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,317,000 after acquiring an additional 162,853 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.