Brokerages Set SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target at $32.63

SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.6250.

Several analysts recently issued reports on SLM shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of SLM from $38.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of SLM from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of SLM from $43.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings raised SLM from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on SLM from $40.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 17th.

SLM Stock Performance

SLM opened at $28.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a PE ratio of 9.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.24 and a 200-day moving average of $30.43. SLM has a 52-week low of $23.81 and a 52-week high of $34.97.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 14th. The credit services provider reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter. SLM had a return on equity of 30.13% and a net margin of 21.76%.The firm had revenue of ($3.44) million during the quarter. SLM has set its FY 2022 guidance at $2.800-$3.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that SLM will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 4th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. SLM’s payout ratio is 18.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLM during the first quarter valued at approximately $277,704,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in SLM by 378.4% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,633,072 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $77,333,000 after buying an additional 2,082,687 shares in the last quarter. M.D. Sass LLC bought a new stake in SLM in the 1st quarter valued at $37,317,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in SLM in the 1st quarter valued at $15,544,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of SLM by 89.4% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 743,038 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $21,823,000 after buying an additional 350,738 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.