SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) Stock Rated "Hold" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give SLM a “Hold” consensus: Of 11 firms covering the stock, five rate it Buy, five Hold and one Sell; the average 12-month price target is $26.44. Several firms recently cut their targets.
• SLM’s latest quarter fell short of expectations, reporting a loss of $0.19 per share versus forecast earnings of $0.17 and revenue of $375.47 million versus expected $453.34 million. Revenue declined 31.3% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, equivalent to $0.52 annually and a 3.1% yield.

Shares of SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Hold" from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $26.44.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 23rd. TD Cowen cut their price target on SLM from $32.00 to $27.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of SLM from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on SLM from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 23rd.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM opened at $16.94 on Friday. SLM has a 12 month low of $16.64 and a 12 month high of $31.06. The company has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The credit services provider reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.36). The firm had revenue of $375.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $453.34 million. SLM had a net margin of 20.43% and a return on equity of 26.34%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 31.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that SLM will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.84%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Heritage Family Offices LLP bought a new position in shares of SLM during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 48.7% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,016 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in SLM during the second quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new stake in SLM during the 2nd quarter valued at $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company's stock.

SLM Company Profile

SLM Corp., commonly known as Sallie Mae, is a financial services company focused on helping students and families finance higher education. Its primary business is the origination and servicing of private education loans, which can help cover tuition, fees, books, housing and other eligible education-related expenses not fully covered by federal student aid.

The company offers private student loans for undergraduate and graduate education, as well as loans for career-training programs and other education needs.

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