SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Stock Price Up 4.1% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• SLM shares rose 4.1% to about $23.44, although trading volume was 67% below the average session volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating and a $29.70 average price target, based on five Buy, six Hold, and one Sell rating.
• SLM’s latest quarterly results missed expectations, with EPS of $0.29 versus the $0.46 consensus and revenue of $401.1 million versus $409.2 million expected; the company pays a $0.13 quarterly dividend, yielding about 2.2% annually.

SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 4.1% on Monday. The stock traded as high as $23.42 and last traded at $23.4440. 996,542 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 3,023,028 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.52.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $26.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $28.00 target price on shares of SLM in a report on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of SLM from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SLM presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.70.

SLM Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.96. The company's 50 day moving average is $25.57 and its 200-day moving average is $23.94.

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

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. SLM's payout ratio is currently 14.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLM. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in SLM by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in SLM by 48.7% during 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. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in SLM by 202.3% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,116 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,416 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 52.1% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,819 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 1,882 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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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