SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) PT Raised to $27.00

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price target hoisted by investment analysts at Barclays from $23.00 to $27.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 17.80% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on SLM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of SLM from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.83.

SLM Price Performance

SLM stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $22.92. 281,902 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,798,952. The company’s fifty day moving average is $21.38 and its 200-day moving average is $21.35. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a PE ratio of 7.16, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.15. SLM has a 52 week low of $12.26 and a 52 week high of $23.95.

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. The firm had revenue of $783.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $368.97 million. SLM had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 41.84%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that SLM will post 2.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total value of $102,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 101,093 shares in the company, valued at $2,294,811.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of SLM

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in SLM by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,136,784 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $633,575,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,557 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,461,356 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $271,626,000 after acquiring an additional 674,424 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,687,920 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $118,248,000 after acquiring an additional 119,342 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,453,521 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $92,589,000 after acquiring an additional 859,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 107.1% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,366,642 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $49,202,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224,015 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.