SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $30.73.

Several brokerages have issued reports on SLM. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays increased their target price on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Compass Point boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of SLM by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 24,657 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $724,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in SLM by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in SLM by 86.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in SLM by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,935 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of SLM by 6.4% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 7,800 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLM Trading Up 0.9 %

SLM stock opened at $31.47 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.27. SLM has a 1-year low of $19.39 and a 1-year high of $32.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.46.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.21. SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The business had revenue of $374.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that SLM 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, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.71%.

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.

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