SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target Raised to $24.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its target price increased by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $22.00 to $24.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 16.62% from the stock’s previous close.

SLM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on SLM from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup raised SLM from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. TheStreet raised shares of SLM from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.32.

SLM Stock Performance

SLM opened at $20.58 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. SLM has a 52-week low of $12.26 and a 52-week high of $21.94. The firm has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s fifty day moving average is $20.70 and its 200-day moving average is $17.86.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $725.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $379.20 million. SLM had a return on equity of 36.86% and a net margin of 20.65%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.33) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that SLM will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to buyback $650.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In other news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of SLM stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total transaction of $249,483.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,564,155. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total value of $1,949,296.16. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 52,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,093,000.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total transaction of $249,483.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 126,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,564,155. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SLM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,136,784 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $633,575,000 after buying an additional 1,151,557 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of SLM by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 21,483,681 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $350,614,000 after purchasing an additional 75,771 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 11,786,932 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $225,574,000 after purchasing an additional 1,969,885 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of SLM by 17.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,605,432 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $81,839,000 after buying an additional 988,172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of SLM by 53.0% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,530,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $83,171,000 after buying an additional 1,570,000 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SLM Company Profile

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.