SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Upgraded to Overweight at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note published on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has $38.00 price objective on the credit services provider's stock, up from their previous price objective of $29.00.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up previously from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.40.

SLM Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ SLM traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $33.41. 1,408,843 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,305,280. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $32.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $7.01 billion, a PE ratio of 12.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.09. SLM has a twelve month low of $19.39 and a twelve month high of $34.97.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $374.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.83 million. SLM had a net margin of 21.05% and a return on equity of 31.25%. The company's revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. Research analysts predict that SLM will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. SLM's payout ratio is currently 18.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,324.25. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SLM. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in SLM in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in SLM in the 1st quarter valued at about $45,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in SLM by 37.7% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,714 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in SLM by 355.4% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,899 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in SLM in the 1st quarter valued at about $62,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.