SLM Corp. (SLM, Financial) stock rose over 1% on Monday and was up 0.51% in late-afternoon trading on Tuesday. The company's stock has rallied in the last month, rising over 7%. The stock's rally to start the week is a result of optimism over Federal Reserve meetings this week.
The Dow hit a record high as the Nasdaq rose 0.14% and the Standard & Poor's 500 rose 0.15%.
SLM's stock is also riding on several recent reports. The company's Sallie Mae subsidiary, a student loan servicing company, announced earlier in the month that it will be partnering with the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors to launch free college planning tools.
The tools will be provided with 40,000 insurance and financial advisers who will help their clients make an informed decision on their college planning.
Planning tools will be offered for all steps of higher education. Sallie Mae will offer scholarship search tools, too, which can be accessed directly by students. The tools will utilize the user's personal information to match the student with potential scholarships. The company will send notifications to students for any new scholarships found that match their criteria.
Sallie Mae will further help students fill out financial aid forms, analyze financial aid letters and offer industry research to students. Options to help find funding for education when scholarships, federal loans and grants are exhausted will also be provided.
SLM stock is up over 5% since the announcement of its recent partnerships.
The company's chief financial officer, Steven J. McGarry, presented at the Global Financial Services Conference last week in New York City.
The presentation was quickly followed by the announcement that Sallie Mae has teamed up with Dee-1, hip-hop artist and motivational speaker. Dee-1 holds the "Dee-1's Knowledge for College Tour" that aims to educate potential college attendees on the importance of planning for college.
The tour kicks off on Sept. 20 and will be held at 26 high schools in the Cleveland area.
Salle Mae will offer a $5,000 scholarship to a member of the audience at each of the schools. Dee-1 will work to promote many of the free tools offered by Sallie Mae to help students better plan for their college education.
News that Sallie Mae has partnered with Dee-1 added support for the company's stock.
Sallie Mae continues to impress investors after caution from experts that the company's rising costs remain a problem for profitability. The company's stock has turned around in recent weeks but still remains down over 8% since its last earnings report.
Disclosure: Jacob Maslow does not own any of the listed equities.
