Trexquant Investment LP Takes $3.12 Million Position in SLM Corporation $SLM

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP has acquired a new stake in SLM Corporation, purchasing 106,227 shares valued at approximately $3.12 million, indicating growing institutional interest in the credit services provider.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for SLM, with Morgan Stanley setting a target of $40.00 and Barclays raising theirs to $43.00, reflecting a generally positive outlook on the company's performance.
• SLM recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 1.7%, while insiders continue to manage their holdings actively.

Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 106,227 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,120,000. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.05% of SLM at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SLM. PEAK6 LLC lifted its stake in SLM by 77.1% in the 1st quarter. PEAK6 LLC now owns 51,725 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,519,000 after purchasing an additional 22,525 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in SLM in the 1st quarter worth approximately $228,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec purchased a new stake in SLM in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,392,000. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in SLM by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 36,509 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in SLM in the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on SLM. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, August 25th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of SLM from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of SLM from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of SLM from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $35.00.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In other SLM news, EVP Kerri A. Palmer sold 55,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.21, for a total value of $1,771,550.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 119,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,841,139.13. This trade represents a 31.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

SLM Trading Down 2.1%

NASDAQ:SLM traded down $0.66 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $31.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,846,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,765,836. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.63, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.90. SLM Corporation has a 1 year low of $19.64 and a 1 year high of $34.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $403.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $370.26 million. SLM had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 15.46%.SLM's revenue for the quarter was down 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. SLM has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.100 EPS. Research analysts expect that SLM Corporation will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.13%.

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.