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

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price target cut by Wedbush from $29.00 to $26.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on SLM from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, SLM currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $24.00.

SLM Price Performance

SLM opened at $22.25 on Tuesday. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.27. The firm has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.95, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.15. SLM has a 1 year low of $12.26 and a 1 year high of $23.95.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $368.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that SLM will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

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 transaction of $102,150.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 101,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,294,811.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,108,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in SLM by 107.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,366,642 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $49,202,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,015 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in SLM by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,136,784 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $633,575,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,557 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in SLM by 253.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,290,997 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,840,000 after buying an additional 926,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in SLM by 6,779.4% during the 1st quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 894,116 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $19,483,000 after buying an additional 881,119 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.