Royal Bank of Canada Reaffirms “Outperform” Rating for SLM (NASDAQ:SLM)

Royal Bank of Canada restated their outperform rating on shares of SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) in a research report report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $26.00 price target on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.67.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM opened at $21.90 on Thursday. SLM has a 52 week low of $12.26 and a 52 week high of $23.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. The stock has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.84, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.50.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.40 million. SLM had a return on equity of 41.84% and a net margin of 24.67%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. On average, analysts expect that SLM will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. This is a positive change from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total value of $102,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 101,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,294,811.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of SLM by 1,373.3% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in SLM in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in SLM by 358.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,399 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the second quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of SLM by 378.1% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,050 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 2,412 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.