SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) PT Raised to $25.00

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its target price increased by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $24.00 to $25.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 14.16% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Citigroup upgraded shares of SLM from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of SLM from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. TheStreet upgraded shares of SLM from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SLM currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.32.

SLM Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM opened at $21.90 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.23. The firm has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a PE ratio of 6.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.16. SLM has a 12-month low of $12.26 and a 12-month high of $22.37.

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

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

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

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

Institutional Trading of SLM

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in SLM during the 4th quarter worth about $1,785,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in SLM during the 3rd quarter worth about $713,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 10,266 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 155,595 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,092,000 after purchasing an additional 31,595 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 684,103 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,317,000 after purchasing an additional 162,853 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

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.