SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target Increased to $27.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price target boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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. Wedbush increased their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of SLM from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLM currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $24.00.

SLM Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of SLM opened at $22.56 on Friday. 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 $4.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.17. SLM has a 1 year low of $12.26 and a 1 year high of $23.95. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.85.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $783.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that SLM will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.75%.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 81.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in SLM in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 period. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its position in SLM by 37.0% during the 1st quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 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.