SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Increases Dividend to $0.13 Per Share

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 23rd, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of 0.13 per share by the credit services provider on Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This is an increase from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11.

SLM has increased its dividend payment by an average of 54.2% annually over the last three years. SLM has a payout ratio of 14.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect SLM to earn $3.01 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 14.6%.

SLM Price Performance

SLM opened at $22.21 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $21.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.50. SLM has a 1 year low of $12.26 and a 1 year high of $23.95. The stock has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.94, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.15. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.30). SLM had a return on equity of 41.84% and a net margin of 24.67%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.11 EPS. Analysts forecast that SLM will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total transaction of $102,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 101,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 through this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.