SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Hits New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $34.97 and last traded at $34.44, with a volume of 1252376 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $34.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SLM. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $40.00 price target (up previously from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.30.

SLM Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $7.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.09. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $32.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.91.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.21. SLM had a net margin of 21.05% and a return on equity of 31.25%. 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that SLM Corporation will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of SLM stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $93,450.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,324.25. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 37.7% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,714 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 355.4% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,899 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 1,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the 1st quarter valued at $62,000. 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.