SLM (SLM) to Release Earnings on Wednesday

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) is scheduled to be announcing its earnings results after the market closes on Wednesday, April 24th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.98 per share for the quarter. Investors interested in listening to the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $725.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $379.20 million. SLM had a net margin of 20.65% and a return on equity of 36.86%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.33) EPS. On average, analysts expect SLM to post $3 EPS for the current fiscal year and $3 EPS for the next fiscal year.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM opened at $21.09 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $20.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.00. The stock has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a PE ratio of 8.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. SLM has a one year low of $12.26 and a one year high of $21.94.

SLM announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on SLM from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. TheStreet upgraded SLM from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on SLM from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on SLM in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SLM news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total value of $249,483.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,564,155. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other SLM news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 52,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,093,000.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of SLM stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total value of $249,483.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,564,155. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SLM

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of SLM by 66.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 790,210 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $15,110,000 after acquiring an additional 316,730 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in shares of SLM by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 127,224 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,433,000 after acquiring an additional 1,573 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of SLM by 48.3% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 216,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,144,000 after acquiring an additional 70,614 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of SLM by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,136,784 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $633,575,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its stake in SLM by 194.4% in the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 338,062 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,464,000 after purchasing an additional 223,237 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.