SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Analyst Says

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price objective increased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $30.00 to $32.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 10.31% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Compass Point increased their target price on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays cut their price target on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.82.

SLM Stock Down 1.0 %

SLM stock opened at $29.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $27.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.91. SLM has a 12 month low of $18.84 and a 12 month high of $31.49. The company has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.11, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.21.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. As a group, analysts forecast that SLM will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of SLM stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total value of $122,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 83,130 shares in the company, valued at $2,265,292.50. The trade was a 5.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SLM

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of SLM by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,923,576 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $158,342,000 after acquiring an additional 43,927 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in SLM during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $623,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in SLM in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,250,000. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP lifted its position in shares of SLM by 62.9% during the third quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 177,840 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,067,000 after purchasing an additional 68,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in SLM during the 3rd quarter worth $268,000. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.