Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Our common stock is listed and has traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbol SLM since December 12, 2011. Previously, our common stock was listed and traded on the New York Stock Exchange. As of January 31, 2021, there were 363,671,446 shares of our common stock outstanding and 264 holders of record.
We paid quarterly cash dividends on our common stock of $0.03 per share for each quarter of 2020 and 2019. For the year ended December 31, 2018, we did not pay dividends on our common stock. Common stock dividend declarations are subject to determination by, and the discretion of, our Board of Directors. We may change our common stock dividend policy at any time.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
The following table provides information relating to our purchase of shares of our common stock in the three months ended December 31, 2020.
(In thousands, except per share data) Total Number
of Shares
Purchased (1)
Average Price
Paid per
Share
Total Number of
Shares Purchased
as Part of Publicly
Announced Plans
or Programs (2)
Approximate Dollar
Value
of Shares That
May Yet Be
Purchased Under
Publicly Announced
Plans or
Programs (2)
Period:
October 1 - October 31, 2020 28 $ 9.23 — $ 75,000
November 1 - November 30, 2020 44 $ 10.60 — $ 75,000
December 1 - December 31, 2020 17 $ 11.93 — $ 75,000
Total fourth-quarter 2020 89 $ 10.43 —
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(1) The total number of shares purchased includes: (i) shares purchased under the stock repurchase programs discussed herein, and (ii) shares of our common stock tendered to us to satisfy the exercise price in connection with cashless exercises of stock options, and tax withholding obligations in connection with exercises of stock options and vesting of restricted stock, restricted stock units and performance stock units.
(2) On January 23, 2019, our Board of Directors authorized us to repurchase shares of our common stock up to an aggregate repurchase price not to exceed $200 million under the 2019 Share Repurchase Program. As of February 2020, we had utilized all capacity under the 2019 Share Repurchase Program. On January 22, 2020, our Board of Directors authorized us to repurchase shares of our common stock up to an aggregate repurchase price not to exceed $600 million under the 2020 Share Repurchase Program. The 2020 Share Repurchase Program expires on January 21, 2022. In the first quarter of 2020, we paid $525 million under an ASR agreement and received an initial delivery of 44.9 million shares. See Note 13, “Stockholders’ Equity” to our consolidated financial statements for further discussion.
The closing price of our common stock on Nasdaq on December 31, 2020 was $12.39.
The 2019 Share Repurchase Program expired on January 22, 2021 and permitted us to repurchase from time to time shares of our common stock up to an aggregate repurchase price not to exceed $200 million. We utilized all capacity under the 2019 Share Repurchase Program, having repurchased 17 million and 3 million shares of common stock for $167 million and $33 million in the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2020, respectively.
The 2020 Share Repurchase Program expires on January 21, 2022 and permits us to repurchase shares of common stock from time to time up to an aggregate repurchase price not to exceed $600 million.
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Under the authority of the 2020 Share Repurchase Program, on March 10, 2020, we entered into an ASR with a third-party financial institution under which we paid $525 million for an upfront delivery of our common stock and a forward agreement. On March 11, 2020, the third-party financial institution delivered to us approximately 44.9 million shares. The final total actual number of shares of common stock delivered to us pursuant to the forward agreement was based upon the Rule 10b-18 volume-weighted average price at which the shares of our common stock traded during the regular trading sessions on the NASDAQ Global Select Market during the term of the ASR. The transactions are accounted for as equity transactions and are included in treasury stock when the shares are received, at which time there is an immediate reduction in the weighted average common shares calculation for basic and diluted earnings per share. On January 26, 2021, we completed the ASR and upon final settlement on January 28, 2021, we received an additional 13 million shares. In total, we repurchased 58 million shares under the ASR at an average price per share of $9.01. For additional information, see Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 25, “Subsequent Events.”
On January 27, 2021, we announced the 2021 Share Repurchase Program, which was effective upon announcement and expires on January 26, 2023, and permits us to repurchase shares of our common stock from time to time up to an aggregate repurchase price not to exceed $1.25 billion.
On February 2, 2021, we announced the Tender Offer to purchase up to $1 billion in aggregate purchase price of our outstanding shares of common stock, par value $0.20 per share (the “Securities”) or such lesser aggregate purchase price of Securities as are properly tendered and not properly withdrawn, at a single per-Security price not greater than $15.00 nor less than $13.10 per share to the seller in cash, less any applicable withholding taxes and without interest. The Tender Offer may be amended from time to time, and will expire, upon the terms and conditions described in the relevant Tender Offer materials filed with the SEC. The results of the Tender Offer will be reflected in the Company’s financial results for the first fiscal quarter of 2021.
Repurchases under our share repurchase programs may occur from time to time and through a variety of methods, including tender offers, open market repurchases, repurchases effected through Rule 10b5-1 trading plans, negotiated block purchases, accelerated share repurchase programs, or other similar transactions. The timing and volume of any repurchases will be subject to market conditions, and there can be no guarantee that we will repurchase up to the limit of the program or at all.
In addition to any repurchases that we may make under the share repurchase programs, we expect to repurchase common stock acquired as a result of taxes withheld in connection with award exercises and vesting under our employee stock-based compensation plans.
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Stock Performance
The following graph compares the five-year cumulative total returns of SLM Corporation, the S&P Supercomposite Consumer Finance Sub-Industry Index, and the S&P 400 Regional Bank Sub-Industry Index.
This graph assumes $100 was invested in the stock or the relevant index on December 31, 2015, and also assumes the reinvestment of dividends through December 31, 2020.
Five-Year Cumulative Total Stockholder Return
Company/Index 12/31/15 12/31/16 12/31/17 12/31/18 12/31/19 12/31/20
SLM Corporation $100.0 $169.0 $173.3 $127.5 $138.4 $195.0
S&P Supercomposite Consumer Finance Sub-Industry Index 100.0 121.4 145.8 122.2 165.0 166.4
S&P 400 Regional Bank Sub-Industry Index 100.0 133.0 139.9 110.0 137.0 125.2
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Source: Bloomberg Total Return Analysis
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Item 6. Selected Financial Data.
Selected Financial Data 2016-2020
(Dollars in millions, except per share amounts)
The following table sets forth our selected financial and other operating information. The selected financial data in the table is derived from our consolidated financial statements. The data should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements, related notes, and Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”
2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
Operating Data:
Net interest income $ 1,480 $ 1,623 $ 1,413 $ 1,129 $ 891
Non-interest income (loss) 331 49 (52) (3) 69
Total revenue 1,811 1,672 1,361 1,126 960
Net income $ 881 $ 578 $ 487 $ 289 $ 250
Basic earnings per common share attributable to SLM Corporation $ 2.27 $ 1.31 $ 1.08 $ 0.63 $ 0.54
Diluted earnings per common share attributable to SLM Corporation $ 2.25 $ 1.30 $ 1.07 $ 0.62 $ 0.53
Dividends per common share attributable to SLM Corporation common shareholders (1)
$ 0.12 $ 0.12 $ — $ — $ —
Return on common stockholders’ equity 45 % 21 % 20 % 14 % 14 %
Net interest margin 4.81 5.76 6.10 5.93 5.68
Return on assets 2.84 1.96 2.01 1.43 1.52
Dividend payout ratio 5 9 — — —
Average equity/average assets 7.23 10.56 11.22 11.92 13.40
Balance Sheet Data:
Total education loans held for investment portfolio, net $ 19,172 $ 23,680 $ 21,143 $ 18,174 $ 15,125
Total Personal Loans held for investment, net — 984 1,128 394 13
Total Credit Cards held for investment, net 11 4 — — —
Total assets 30,770 32,686 26,638 21,780 18,533
Total deposits 22,666 24,284 18,943 15,505 13,436
Total borrowings 5,189 4,643 4,284 3,275 2,168
Total SLM Corporation stockholders’ equity 2,563 3,312 2,973 2,474 2,347
Book value per common share 6.16 6.91 5.90 4.80 4.15
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(1) Common stock dividend declarations are subject to determination by, and the discretion of, our Board of Directors. We may change our common stock dividend policy at any time. We did not pay common stock dividends in fiscal years 2018, 2017 and 2016.
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Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.