SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $23.98 and last traded at $23.95, with a volume of 877078 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $21.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on SLM. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.45.

SLM Stock Up 11.9 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The company has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50-day moving average of $22.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.56.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 firm posted $0.11 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 2.75 EPS for the current year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is a boost from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. SLM’s payout ratio is presently 15.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLM. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of SLM by 4.8% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the third quarter worth $1,149,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of SLM by 11.1% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,114,083 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $25,479,000 after purchasing an additional 111,258 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in shares of SLM by 1.8% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 92,216 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of SLM by 283.9% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 59,866 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,369,000 after purchasing an additional 44,272 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

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.