JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target to $23.00

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price target boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $22.00 to $23.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 5.02% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on SLM from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Citigroup upgraded SLM from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Wedbush boosted their target price on SLM from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. TheStreet upgraded SLM from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.32.

SLM Price Performance

SLM stock opened at $21.90 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. SLM has a 52-week low of $12.26 and a 52-week high of $22.37. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.23.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $837.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $376.43 million. SLM had a return on equity of 47.72% and a net margin of 25.15%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. Research analysts expect that SLM will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to buyback $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter worth $1,785,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of SLM in the third quarter worth $713,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 10,266 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 25.5% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 155,595 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,092,000 after purchasing an additional 31,595 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 31.2% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 684,103 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,317,000 after purchasing an additional 162,853 shares during the period. 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.