SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Reaches New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $16.64 and last traded at $16.8930, with a volume of 836,248 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $16.91.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on SLM. Wall Street Zen downgraded SLM from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on SLM from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SLM presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.44.

SLM Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $22.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.23.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The credit services provider reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.36). SLM had a return on equity of 26.34% and a net margin of 20.43%. The firm had revenue of $375.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $453.34 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 31.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that SLM Corporation will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SLM. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of SLM in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,184,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the second quarter worth approximately $2,236,000. PDT Partners LLC bought a new stake in SLM during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,261,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in SLM during the second quarter valued at approximately $455,576,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in SLM during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,268,000. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SLM Company Profile

SLM Corporation, commonly known as Sallie Mae, is a U.S.-based education finance company. Through Sallie Mae Bank, it primarily provides private student loans to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as loans for career training and other education-related expenses. The company also offers consumer banking products, including savings accounts and certificates of deposit. Its services include supporting borrowers through loan application, repayment and customer service processes. Founded in 1972 as the Student Loan Marketing Association, the organization was later privatized and became known as Sallie Mae.