SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Earns “Outperform” Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $26.00 price target on the credit services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 18.72% from the stock’s previous close.

SLM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, SLM presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.67.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $21.90. 2,994,642 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,779,376. SLM has a fifty-two week low of $12.26 and a fifty-two week high of $23.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s 50 day moving average is $21.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.30). SLM had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 41.84%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that SLM will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total value of $102,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 101,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,294,811.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLM. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in 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 last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLM in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in SLM by 358.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,399 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in SLM in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in SLM by 378.1% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,050 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,412 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.