SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.17 EPS

Key Points

• SLM reported quarterly earnings of $0.32 EPS, missing expectations by $0.17 EPS, despite revenue of $403.60 million beating estimates.
• The company's revenue declined by 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year, with a net margin of 15.46%.
• SLM announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, which reflects an annualized yield of 1.59%.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Thursday. The credit services provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.17), Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $403.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $370.26 million. SLM had a net margin of 15.46% and a return on equity of 21.93%. SLM's revenue was down 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. SLM updated its FY 2025 guidance to 3.000-3.100 EPS.

SLM Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $32.20. 1,213,068 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,624,181. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. SLM has a 52-week low of $19.39 and a 52-week high of $34.97. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $32.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.45. The firm has a market cap of $6.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.20, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.09.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. SLM's payout ratio is currently 26.13%.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of SLM stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $93,450.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,324.25. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of SLM by 33.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 547,724 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $16,087,000 after acquiring an additional 137,285 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of SLM in the 1st quarter worth approximately $263,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of SLM by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,350 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $627,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of SLM in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays increased their price objective on SLM from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised SLM from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $35.00.

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.