Wells Fargo & Company Initiates Coverage on SLM (NASDAQ:SLM)

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has initiated coverage on SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) with an "overweight" rating and a target price of $38.00, indicating a potential upside of 20.58% from the stock's previous closing price.
• SLM recently missed earnings expectations, reporting $0.32 EPS for the quarter, significantly below the consensus estimate of $0.49, while revenue decreased by 21.4% year-over-year.
• Multiple research firms have recently upgraded their ratings on SLM, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $35.00 from analysts.

Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) in a report published on Monday. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $38.00 price objective on the credit services provider's stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on SLM. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $40.00 target price (up previously from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised SLM from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of SLM from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $35.00.

SLM Price Performance

NASDAQ SLM traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $31.28. The company had a trading volume of 1,709,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,841,753. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $32.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.90. The company has a market capitalization of $6.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02. SLM has a twelve month low of $19.64 and a twelve month high of $34.97.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $403.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $370.26 million. SLM had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 15.46%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. SLM has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.100 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that SLM will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SLM news, EVP Kerri A. Palmer sold 55,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.21, for a total transaction of $1,771,550.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 119,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,841,139.13. This represents a 31.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in SLM in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. City Holding Co. bought a new position in SLM during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in SLM during the first quarter worth about $45,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in SLM by 37.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,714 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in SLM by 355.4% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,899 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,482 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About SLM

SLM Corporation, through its subsidiaries, originates and services private education loans to students and their families to finance the cost of their education in the United States. It is also involved in the provision of retail deposit accounts, including certificates of deposit, money market accounts, and high-yield savings accounts; and interest-bearing omnibus accounts.