SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Given New $24.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its target price boosted by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $22.00 to $24.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 16.62% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on SLM from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup raised shares of SLM from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on SLM from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, TheStreet raised SLM from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SLM has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.32.

SLM Price Performance

SLM stock opened at $20.58 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.58, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $20.70 and a 200-day moving average of $17.86. SLM has a 52-week low of $12.26 and a 52-week high of $21.94.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $725.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $379.20 million. SLM had a net margin of 20.65% and a return on equity of 36.86%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.33) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that SLM will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

SLM announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to buyback $650.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the company’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 transaction of $1,949,296.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,093,000.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total transaction of $1,949,296.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 52,751 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,000.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of SLM stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total transaction of $249,483.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 126,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,564,155. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of SLM by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 7,891 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in SLM by 81.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in SLM by 1.2% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 58,643 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $727,000 after buying an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in SLM by 3.3% during the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 21,663 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 46.4% in 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. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLM Company Profile

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.