SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target Raised to $38.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price objective increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $34.00 to $38.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $33.00 target price (up from $31.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Compass Point upped their price target on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, SLM has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.18.

SLM Stock Performance

SLM stock opened at $33.63 on Wednesday. SLM has a twelve month low of $19.39 and a twelve month high of $33.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The company has a market capitalization of $7.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.69, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $28.75 and its 200 day moving average is $27.88.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.21. SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. The business had revenue of $374.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that SLM will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. SLM’s payout ratio is 18.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total value of $93,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,324.25. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 Investors Weigh In On SLM

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Amundi raised its stake in shares of SLM by 103.4% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 135,014 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,712,000 after buying an additional 68,632 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in SLM by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 223,692 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,169,000 after acquiring an additional 18,754 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in SLM by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,246,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $338,889,000 after purchasing an additional 456,415 shares in the last quarter. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT bought a new position in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,775,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of SLM by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 107,126 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,955,000 after purchasing an additional 22,388 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About SLM

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.