JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Stock

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price objective hoisted by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $29.00 to $30.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 3.41% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, SLM has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.82.

SLM Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM opened at $29.01 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $27.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share 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, equities research analysts predict that SLM will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 83,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,265,292.50. The trade was a 5.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in SLM by 6.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 19,292 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,227 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in SLM by 24.5% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 344,635 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,165,000 after buying an additional 67,777 shares during the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its holdings in SLM by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 80,335 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,670,000 after buying an additional 3,175 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the 2nd quarter worth $2,443,000. Finally, AXA S.A. acquired a new stake in SLM during the second quarter worth about $5,046,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

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.