SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target Raised to $25.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Royal Bank of Canada from $24.00 to $25.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the credit services provider's stock.

SLM has been the topic of several other reports. TheStreet upgraded SLM from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup upgraded SLM from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the company from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Wedbush lifted their target price on SLM from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on SLM in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a buy rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $21.32.

SLM Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SLM traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $21.93. 2,941,980 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,156,341. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. SLM has a 1 year low of $12.26 and a 1 year high of $22.37.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $837.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $376.43 million. SLM had a return on equity of 36.86% and a net margin of 20.65%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. Analysts anticipate that SLM will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. SLM's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.33%.

SLM declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to buyback $650.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SLM news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total transaction of $249,483.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,564,155. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other SLM news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total transaction of $249,483.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,564,155. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total value of $1,949,296.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,093,000.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of SLM by 186.3% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,517,251 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $54,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,638,003 shares during the period. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of SLM by 135.7% in the first quarter. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. now owns 176,800 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,852,000 after purchasing an additional 101,800 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in SLM during the first quarter valued at about $748,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in SLM by 46.8% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,903 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883 shares during the period. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

SLM Company Profile

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.