SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target Raised to $38.00 at Morgan Stanley

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $32.00 to $38.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 28.99% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.45.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLM opened at $29.46 on Monday. SLM has a fifty-two week low of $19.39 and a fifty-two week high of $32.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.12, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $29.09 and a 200-day moving average of $25.62.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that SLM will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $1,142,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 43,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,166.91. This represents a 48.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SLM. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in SLM by 86.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in SLM during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of SLM in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $86,000. 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.