SLM Co. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.11 (NASDAQ:SLM)

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, April 22nd, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be given a dividend of 0.11 per share by the credit services provider on Monday, June 17th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%.

SLM has raised its dividend payment by an average of 54.2% annually over the last three years. SLM has a dividend payout ratio of 15.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect SLM to earn $2.93 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.0%.

SLM Price Performance

NASDAQ:SLM opened at $21.93 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.16. SLM has a 12-month low of $12.26 and a 12-month high of $21.99.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $725.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $379.20 million. SLM had a net margin of 20.65% and a return on equity of 36.86%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.33) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that SLM will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SLM news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total transaction of $1,949,296.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 52,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,093,000.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other SLM news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total transaction of $1,949,296.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 52,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,093,000.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total value of $249,483.16. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on SLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on SLM from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on SLM in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup upgraded SLM from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on SLM from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.32.

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

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.