SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $28.34 and last traded at $28.34, with a volume of 216 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.58.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective (up from $27.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.27.

SLM Trading Up 2.8 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $25.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.87, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.21.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.30). SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. The business had revenue of $652.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.40 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. Analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This is a positive change from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of SLM stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total transaction of $122,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 83,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,265,292.50. This trade represents a 5.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of SLM by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,923,576 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $158,342,000 after buying an additional 43,927 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in SLM in the 3rd quarter valued at about $623,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its stake in shares of SLM by 50.7% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 290,636 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,042,000 after acquiring an additional 97,832 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of SLM during the third quarter worth approximately $3,250,000. Finally, Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP grew its stake in shares of SLM by 62.9% during the third quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 177,840 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,067,000 after purchasing an additional 68,642 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.