Wall Street Zen Upgrades SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) to Hold

Key Points

• SLM Corporation was upgraded from a "sell" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a shift in analyst sentiment towards the company.
• It has an average target price of $32.63, with six analysts rating the stock as a Buy and three as a Hold.
• Insider activity saw EVP Kerri A. Palmer sell 55,000 shares of SLM stock, reducing their ownership by 31.56%.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on SLM from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Barclays decreased their target price on SLM from $43.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on SLM from $38.00 to $33.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on SLM from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on SLM from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.63.

SLM Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of SLM stock opened at $27.62 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.48. SLM has a 1 year low of $21.10 and a 1 year high of $34.97. The company has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 14th. The credit services provider reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter. SLM had a return on equity of 30.24% and a net margin of 21.76%.The company had revenue of ($3.44) million for the quarter. SLM has set its FY 2022 guidance at $2.800-$3.000 EPS. Research analysts forecast that SLM will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kerri A. Palmer sold 55,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.21, for a total value of $1,771,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 119,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,841,139.13. The trade was a 31.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in SLM by 0.3% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 96,570 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,167,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in SLM by 1.1% during the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 36,509 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in SLM by 1.8% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 24,657 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $724,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its stake in SLM by 2.8% during the second quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 16,780 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in SLM by 1.4% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 39,364 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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