SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target Raised to $32.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $30.00 to $32.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective points to a potential upside of 5.06% from the stock’s current price.

SLM has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.64.

SLM Price Performance

NASDAQ SLM opened at $30.46 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.83. SLM has a 52-week low of $18.84 and a 52-week high of $31.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a return on equity of 35.92% and a net margin of 22.18%. Equities research analysts predict that SLM will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total value of $122,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 83,130 shares in the company, valued at $2,265,292.50. This represents a 5.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SLM

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of SLM in the third quarter worth $31,000. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of SLM in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of SLM by 358.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,399 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in SLM by 110.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 2,310 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.