Barclays Lowers SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target to $26.00

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its target price lowered by Barclays from $27.00 to $26.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 14.04% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on SLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Wedbush cut their target price on SLM from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SLM currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.75.

SLM Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ SLM opened at $22.80 on Thursday. SLM has a 1-year low of $12.26 and a 1-year high of $23.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The business’s 50 day moving average is $21.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.10, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.15.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.30). SLM had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 41.84%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that SLM will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total value of $102,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 101,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,294,811.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 194.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,273 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $761,000 after acquiring an additional 21,984 shares during the period. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in SLM in the third quarter valued at about $240,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in SLM by 3,800.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,406,384 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $55,034,000 after purchasing an additional 2,344,691 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in SLM by 2,187.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 66,254 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,515,000 after purchasing an additional 63,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLM during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other 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.