Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Stock

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price target lifted by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $30.00 to $32.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “market perform” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target points to a potential upside of 10.31% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on SLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on SLM from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays cut their price objective on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.82.

SLM Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ SLM opened at $29.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a PE ratio of 10.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.21. SLM has a one year low of $18.84 and a one year high of $31.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.29.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a return on equity of 35.92% and a net margin of 22.18%. On average, equities analysts forecast that SLM will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total value of $122,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 83,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,265,292.50. The trade was a 5.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in SLM by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,923,576 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $158,342,000 after purchasing an additional 43,927 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in SLM by 7.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,762,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $108,936,000 after acquiring an additional 331,490 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in SLM by 3,800.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,406,384 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $55,034,000 after purchasing an additional 2,344,691 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in SLM by 107.1% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,366,642 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $49,202,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,015 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of SLM by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,758,057 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,207,000 after buying an additional 15,252 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is 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.