SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Short Interest Down 46.8% in March

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) saw a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,920,000 shares, a decline of 46.8% from the March 15th total of 11,120,000 shares. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,190,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of SLM stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $1,142,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 43,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,233,166.91. The trade was a 48.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in SLM by 37.7% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the 1st quarter valued at about $316,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in SLM in the 1st quarter worth approximately $607,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its stake in SLM by 162.2% in the first quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 82,600 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,423,000 after buying an additional 51,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in SLM by 19.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,034 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 1,294 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SLM. Compass Point raised their price objective on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SLM has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.18.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of SLM traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $26.60. 354,543 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,166,311. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. SLM has a 1 year low of $19.39 and a 1 year high of $32.65. The company has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $29.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.92.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that SLM will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.62%.

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.