SLM Corporation $SLM Stock: Act Two Investors LLC Trims Stake

Act Two Investors LLC cut its holdings in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) by 92.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,378 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 665,394 shares during the period. Act Two Investors LLC’s holdings in SLM were worth $1,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in SLM by 30.5% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 59,790 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,353,000 after acquiring an additional 13,988 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 11,133 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 10,213 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 109.7% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 33,551 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 17,549 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLM Trading Up 3.7%

NASDAQ SLM traded up $0.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $17.20. The stock had a trading volume of 2,147,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,520,844. SLM Corporation has a one year low of $16.54 and a one year high of $31.06. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.23 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.23.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The credit services provider reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.36). SLM had a return on equity of 26.34% and a net margin of 20.43%. The business had revenue of $375.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $453.34 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that SLM Corporation will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is 18.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SLM. Barclays cut their target price on SLM from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on SLM from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. TD Cowen lowered their price target on SLM from $32.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of SLM from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.44.

About SLM

SLM Corporation, commonly known as Sallie Mae, is a U.S.-based education finance company. Through Sallie Mae Bank, it primarily provides private student loans to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as loans for career training and other education-related expenses. The company also offers consumer banking products, including savings accounts and certificates of deposit. Its services include supporting borrowers through loan application, repayment and customer service processes. Founded in 1972 as the Student Loan Marketing Association, the organization was later privatized and became known as Sallie Mae.