Wells Fargo & Company Cuts SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target to $33.00

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its target price decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $38.00 to $33.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price objective (down previously from $38.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Barclays lowered their price objective on SLM from $43.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on SLM from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on SLM from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, SLM presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.63.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLM opened at $27.62 on Friday. SLM has a fifty-two week low of $21.10 and a fifty-two week high of $34.97. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $28.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The firm has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a PE ratio of 9.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.11.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Sell-side analysts expect that SLM will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 4th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 4th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kerri A. Palmer sold 55,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.21, for a total value of $1,771,550.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 119,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,841,139.13. This trade represents a 31.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the 1st quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the 1st quarter worth approximately $94,000. 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.