SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM)’s share price hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $17.34 and last traded at $17.3130, with a volume of 633,058 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLM has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Barclays decreased their target price on SLM from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded SLM from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on SLM from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on SLM from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.44.

SLM Stock Down 2.0%

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $23.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 6.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The credit services provider reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.36). SLM had a return on equity of 26.34% and a net margin of 20.43%. The firm had revenue of $375.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $453.34 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 31.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that SLM Corporation will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.84%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Heritage Family Offices LLP acquired a new stake in shares of SLM during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in SLM by 109.7% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 33,551 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 17,549 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in SLM by 113.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,238 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 2,251 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its stake in SLM by 465.5% during the 3rd quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 806,141 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $18,243,000 after buying an additional 663,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in SLM by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sage Investment Counsel LLC now owns 68,062 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,540,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Company Profile

SLM Corp., commonly known as Sallie Mae, is a financial services company focused on helping students and families finance higher education. Its primary business is the origination and servicing of private education loans, which can help cover tuition, fees, books, housing and other eligible education-related expenses not fully covered by federal student aid.

The company offers private student loans for undergraduate and graduate education, as well as loans for career-training programs and other education needs.