SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $28.99 and last traded at $28.79, with a volume of 157370 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $28.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective (up previously from $27.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on SLM in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SLM presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.90.

SLM Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a PE ratio of 10.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.29.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 35.92% and a net margin of 22.18%. The firm had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.11 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of SLM stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total value of $122,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 83,130 shares in the company, valued at $2,265,292.50. The trade was a 5.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,923,576 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $158,342,000 after purchasing an additional 43,927 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in SLM by 7.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,762,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $108,936,000 after acquiring an additional 331,490 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in SLM by 3,800.6% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 2,344,691 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in SLM by 107.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,366,642 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $49,202,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in SLM by 0.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,758,057 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,207,000 after acquiring an additional 15,252 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently 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.