Kendall Capital Management Decreases Stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Kendall Capital Management reduced its position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 0.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,285 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Kendall Capital Management’s holdings in SLM were worth $1,170,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in SLM by 1,373.3% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC increased its stake in SLM by 37.0% during the first quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in SLM during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of SLM by 39.5% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of SLM by 78.6% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,962 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 1,304 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on SLM from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Wedbush upped their target price on SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of SLM stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total transaction of $102,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 101,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,294,811.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

SLM Stock Up 0.7 %

SLM stock opened at $21.74 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $21.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.22. SLM Co. has a 1-year low of $12.26 and a 1-year high of $23.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.79, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.15.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.32. SLM had a return on equity of 41.84% and a net margin of 24.67%. The company had revenue of $783.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $368.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.75%.

About SLM

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.