Wells Fargo & Company Cuts SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target to $33.00

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has reduced its price target for SLM from $38.00 to $33.00, maintaining an "overweight" rating, which indicates a potential upside of 17.45% from the current stock price.
• Recent analyst reports show varied ratings for SLM, with Wall Street Zen downgrading it to "sell" and JPMorgan Chase & Co. issuing a $29.00 target price.
• The company's stock has seen a 5.1% increase recently, with a current trading price of $28.10, despite a challenging market outlook based on recent analyst revisions.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $38.00 to $33.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the credit services provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective suggests a potential upside of 17.45% from the company's current price.

SLM has been the subject of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered SLM from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $29.00 target price (down previously from $38.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays decreased their target price on SLM from $43.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of SLM in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, SLM has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.63.

SLM Stock Up 5.1%

NASDAQ SLM traded up $1.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $28.10. 1,553,693 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,643,698. The company has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02. SLM has a 1-year low of $21.10 and a 1-year high of $34.97.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 14th. The credit services provider reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of ($3.44) million during the quarter. SLM had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 15.46%. SLM has set its FY 2022 guidance at $2.800-$3.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that SLM will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kerri A. Palmer sold 55,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 119,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,841,139.13. The trade was a 31.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of SLM

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SLM. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of SLM during the second quarter worth $25,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in shares of SLM during the first quarter worth $45,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLM during the first quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLM during the first quarter worth $94,000. 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.

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