SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $24.61 and last traded at $24.61, with a volume of 80394 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $23.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.45.

SLM Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.35, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $22.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.74.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.40 million. SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is a boost from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SLM. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of SLM by 3,800.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,406,384 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $55,034,000 after purchasing an additional 2,344,691 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of SLM by 107.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,366,642 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $49,202,000 after buying an additional 1,224,015 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in SLM by 253.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,290,997 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,840,000 after acquiring an additional 926,120 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in SLM by 23.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,453,521 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $92,589,000 after purchasing an additional 859,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of SLM by 5.7% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,461,356 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $271,626,000 after purchasing an additional 674,424 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is 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.