Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP Grows Position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP raised its position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 62.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 177,840 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 68,642 shares during the quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP owned 0.08% of SLM worth $4,067,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in SLM by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of SLM by 13.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,077 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of SLM by 5.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,708 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of SLM by 9.9% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,017 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 12.3% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,368 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Stock Up 2.8 %

SLM stock opened at $27.88 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $23.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.85. SLM Co. has a 1-year low of $14.03 and a 1-year high of $28.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.71, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.40 million. SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is an increase from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is presently 15.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SLM shares. Bank of America began coverage on SLM in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target 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. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.45.

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.