SLM Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:SLM)

SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 2,505 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 141% compared to the average daily volume of 1,041 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of SLM from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, August 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other news, EVP Kerri A. Palmer sold 55,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.21, for a total value of $1,771,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 119,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,841,139.13. The trade was a 31.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLM in the 1st quarter valued at $607,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SLM in the 1st quarter valued at $216,000. Informed Momentum Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLM in the 1st quarter valued at $4,190,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of SLM by 24.2% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 207,129 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,083,000 after buying an additional 40,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of SLM by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,034 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 1,294 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Price Performance

NASDAQ:SLM opened at $28.45 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.30, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.11. SLM has a one year low of $21.10 and a one year high of $34.97. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $31.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $403.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $370.26 million. SLM had a net margin of 15.46% and a return on equity of 21.93%. SLM’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. SLM has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.100 EPS. Analysts anticipate that SLM will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.13%.

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.