Wedbush Lowers SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target to $26.00

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price target lowered by analysts at Wedbush from $29.00 to $26.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 20.65% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.73.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM traded down $0.52 on Tuesday, hitting $21.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 333,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,812,645. SLM has a 12 month low of $12.26 and a 12 month high of $23.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $21.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $4.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.15.

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

Insider Activity at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 101,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,294,811.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SLM. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised 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 buying an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of SLM by 37.0% in the first quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 494 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of SLM by 78.6% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,962 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLM in the second quarter worth $60,000. 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.