Barclays Cuts SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target to $27.00

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price objective cut by investment analysts at Barclays from $35.00 to $27.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 22.49% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on SLM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of SLM in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $25.00 price target (down from $29.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on SLM from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of SLM from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.70.

SLM Trading Up 1.9%

NASDAQ SLM traded up $0.40 on Monday, hitting $22.04. 477,465 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,794,930. SLM has a 52-week low of $17.77 and a 52-week high of $34.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $22.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.71.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $383.43 million. SLM had a net margin of 26.04% and a return on equity of 34.79%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700-2.800 EPS. Research analysts forecast that SLM will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SLM. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in SLM by 31.3% during the 4th 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 during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in SLM by 139.5% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 160,272 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,337,000 after buying an additional 93,364 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of SLM by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,649 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 669 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in SLM during the third quarter valued at $69,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP raised its stake in shares of SLM by 616.6% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.