SLM Corporation Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.13 (NASDAQ:SLM)

SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.13 per share by the credit services provider on Monday, March 16th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th.

SLM has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.3%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 1 years. SLM has a payout ratio of 15.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect SLM to earn $3.34 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.6%.

SLM Stock Performance

SLM stock opened at $26.43 on Thursday. SLM has a 12-month low of $23.81 and a 12-month high of $34.97. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a PE ratio of 9.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.12.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $172.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $382.50 million. SLM had a return on equity of 30.13% and a net margin of 21.76%.During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.23) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that SLM will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of SLM from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of SLM in a research note on Friday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $25.00 target price (down previously from $29.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of SLM from $40.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLM has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.20.

SLM Company Profile

SLM Corporation, operating as Sallie Mae Bank, is a leading U.S.-based consumer banking company specializing in education financing and related banking products. The company provides a range of private student loans for undergraduate and graduate studies, Parent PLUS loans, and specialized financing for career and certificate programs. In addition to its core lending services, Sallie Mae offers deposit products including savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and credit cards tailored to students and young adults.

Founded in 1972 as the Student Loan Marketing Association—a government-sponsored enterprise—Sallie Mae was privatized in 2004 and has since focused on expanding its private education loan offerings and digital banking solutions.