SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target Increased to $23.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $22.00 to $23.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 5.36% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on SLM. Wedbush lifted their price objective on SLM from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on SLM from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Citigroup raised SLM from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $23.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on SLM in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, SLM presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.32.

SLM Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of SLM traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $21.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,797,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,141,462. The firm has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. SLM has a 52-week low of $12.26 and a 52-week high of $22.37.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.18. SLM had a return on equity of 36.86% and a net margin of 20.65%. The company had revenue of $837.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $376.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that SLM will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

SLM announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to repurchase $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management 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 stock was sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total value of $249,483.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,564,155. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other SLM news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total transaction of $249,483.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,564,155. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was 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 directly owns 52,751 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,000.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 81.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 1,373.3% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in SLM during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in SLM by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,330 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 739 shares during the period. 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.