SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) Stock Rated "Hold" by Sell-Side Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts rate SLM “Hold” overall: six analysts have hold ratings, five recommend buying, and one recommends selling. The average 12-month price target is $29.40, though recent target revisions were mixed.
• SLM reported quarterly EPS of $0.29, missing the $0.46 consensus estimate, while revenue of $401.11 million also fell short of expectations and declined 0.7% year over year.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, equivalent to a 2.3% yield, and institutional investors own nearly 99% of its outstanding stock.

SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.40.

Several research firms recently weighed in on SLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on SLM from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $28.00 price target on SLM in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on SLM from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th.

SLM Price Performance

NASDAQ SLM opened at $22.94 on Tuesday. SLM has a fifty-two week low of $17.77 and a fifty-two week high of $31.06. The stock's 50-day moving average is $25.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.96. The firm has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

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

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. SLM's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.53%.

Institutional Trading of SLM

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 16.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 13,461 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 1,882 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of SLM by 52.1% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,819 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of SLM by 48.7% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,016 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of SLM by 32.2% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 66,623 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,728,000 after acquiring an additional 16,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in SLM by 5.5% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 497,731 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $12,911,000 after acquiring an additional 26,026 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company's stock.

SLM Company Profile

SLM Corp., operating under the Sallie Mae brand, is a financial services company focused on education financing. It primarily provides private student loans to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as education loans for parents and other creditworthy borrowers. Sallie Mae also offers related products and resources designed to help families plan and pay for college.

The company's private education loans can be used for eligible expenses such as tuition, fees, books, supplies, and living costs.

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