SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• SLM has a consensus “Hold” rating among 12 analysts: six holds, five buys and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $29.80, above the reported $24.99 share price.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of SLM, with BlackRock and several other major firms establishing new positions during the second quarter.
• SLM reported quarterly EPS of $0.29, missing the $0.46 consensus estimate, while revenue declined 0.7% year over year. The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, equivalent to a 2.1% yield.

SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $29.80.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $26.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Zacks Research downgraded SLM from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered SLM from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on SLM from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SLM. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SLM during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $455,576,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new position in SLM during the second quarter valued at approximately $169,136,000. Azora Capital LP acquired a new position in SLM during the second quarter valued at approximately $97,917,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in SLM during the second quarter worth $39,251,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,268,000. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of SLM stock opened at $24.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.96. SLM has a twelve month low of $17.77 and a twelve month high of $31.06. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.56.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.17). SLM had a return on equity of 33.81% and a net margin of 26.09%.The business had revenue of $401.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $409.22 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.200 EPS. Analysts forecast that SLM will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. SLM's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.53%.

About SLM

SLM Corporation, commonly known as Sallie Mae, is a U.S.-based education finance company that provides private education loans to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as to parents and other borrowers. Its lending products are designed to help cover tuition, fees, housing, books and other qualified education expenses not fully met by federal financial aid or other funding sources.

Through Sallie Mae Bank, the company also offers consumer deposit products, including savings accounts, certificates of deposit and money market accounts.

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