Yousif Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Yousif Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 78,203 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,629 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in SLM were worth $2,297,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLM. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in SLM by 314.7% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 212,531 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,813,000 after purchasing an additional 161,283 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in SLM during the 4th quarter worth $218,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in SLM by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 30,336 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in SLM by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 9,052 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 960 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new stake in SLM during the fourth quarter worth about $406,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Stock Down 1.4%

SLM stock opened at $31.20 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. SLM Co. has a twelve month low of $19.39 and a twelve month high of $34.55.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.21. SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. The firm had revenue of $374.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $359.83 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $93,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,096,324.25. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on SLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.30.

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.