SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target Raised to $27.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price target boosted by Royal Bank of Canada from $25.00 to $27.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SLM presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $23.73.

SLM Trading Down 2.7 %

NASDAQ SLM opened at $23.00 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67. SLM has a 1-year low of $12.26 and a 1-year high of $23.95. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.76. The company has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 7.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.17.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.32. SLM had a return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 24.67%. The company had revenue of $783.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $368.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that SLM will post 2.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. SLM’s payout ratio is 13.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in SLM by 81.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SLM during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of SLM by 1,373.3% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the period. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of SLM by 37.0% in the first quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in SLM in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors 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.