SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $32.30.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SLM. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up previously from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM traded up $0.01 on Wednesday, hitting $32.96. The company had a trading volume of 4,037,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,276,824. SLM has a 1-year low of $19.39 and a 1-year high of $34.55. The stock has a market cap of $6.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $31.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

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 21.05% and a return on equity of 31.25%. The firm had revenue of $374.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.27 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that SLM will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. SLM's dividend payout ratio is 18.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $93,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,096,324.25. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in SLM during the first quarter worth about $1,472,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 0.5% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 116,786 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,430,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of SLM in the first quarter worth about $94,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 0.7% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,802,829 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $52,949,000 after acquiring an additional 12,264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of SLM in the first quarter worth about $2,368,000. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

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.