SLM price target raised by $2 at Stephens, here’s why

Stephens raised the firm’s price target on SLM to $18 from $16 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. The firm expects SLM shares will be higher after the company hosted its Investor Forum call, the key takeaway from which the firm identifies as being that EPS should continue to increase year-over-year even as the pace of loan sales, and resulting share repurchases, slows over time. The firm, which says the market had been anticipating a drop-off in EPS as loan sales slowed, also thinks positively about Sallie Mae’s positive comments on loan sale gains and improving credit performance.