SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target Raised to $29.00 at Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target on SLM from $28 to $29 and maintained an outperform rating, implying about 15.56% upside from the prior close.
• Other analysts remain mixed on the stock: JPMorgan cut its target to $22 with an underweight rating, while the overall consensus remains Hold with an average price target of $29.50.
• SLM recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $1.54 EPS versus $1.14 expected and revenue of $559.99 million, while also guiding FY 2026 EPS to 3.10–3.20.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $28.00 to $29.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the credit services provider's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's target price indicates a potential upside of 15.56% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on SLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded SLM from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $27.00 target price on shares of SLM in a research report on Friday, April 24th. 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $29.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $29.50.

SLM Price Performance

SLM stock opened at $25.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.48. SLM has a 12 month low of $17.77 and a 12 month high of $33.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.73 billion, a PE ratio of 6.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.94.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.40. SLM had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 26.42%.The business had revenue of $559.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $486.05 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.200 EPS. Equities analysts predict that SLM will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SLM. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of SLM by 33.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 547,724 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $16,087,000 after acquiring an additional 137,285 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of SLM by 63.1% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 261,392 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,596,000 after buying an additional 101,120 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 616.6% in the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 109,485 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,031,000 after buying an additional 94,207 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in SLM by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 53,673 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,452,000 after acquiring an additional 12,793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in SLM in the 1st quarter valued at about $263,000. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

About SLM

SLM Corporation, operating as Sallie Mae Bank, is a leading U.S.-based consumer banking company specializing in education financing and related banking products. The company provides a range of private student loans for undergraduate and graduate studies, Parent PLUS loans, and specialized financing for career and certificate programs. In addition to its core lending services, Sallie Mae offers deposit products including savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and credit cards tailored to students and young adults.

Founded in 1972 as the Student Loan Marketing Association—a government-sponsored enterprise—Sallie Mae was privatized in 2004 and has since focused on expanding its private education loan offerings and digital banking solutions.

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