SLM Corporation $SLM Stock: Vest Financial LLC Boosts Holdings

Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) by 44.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 270,049 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 82,611 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned 0.14% of SLM worth $6,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SLM. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the second quarter valued at about $455,576,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new stake in SLM in the second quarter worth $169,136,000. Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in SLM in the second quarter worth $97,917,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in SLM in the second quarter valued at $39,251,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in SLM in the second quarter valued at $37,268,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting SLM

Here are the key news stories impacting SLM this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Private education loan originations rose 15% year over year to a record $3.4 billion, while graduate-loan originations increased 119%. SLM also repurchased 5.1 million shares for $132.2 million, supporting per-share value over the longer term. Sallie Mae Reports Third-Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Sixth Street committed to purchase approximately $1.5 billion of student loans annually, potentially expanding SLM’s funding and loan-origination capacity. SLM: Three Key Takeaways
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley, RBC, and TD Cowen lowered their price targets to $26, $26, and $27, respectively, but retained positive ratings ranging from overweight to buy. The revisions indicate reduced near-term expectations while implying substantial potential upside from recent levels.
• Negative Sentiment: SLM reported a $35.9 million net loss attributable to common stock, or $0.19 per share, compared with $0.63 of earnings a year earlier. Revenue fell 31.3% year over year to approximately $375.5 million, below the $453.3 million consensus estimate. SLM Quarterly Earnings Results
• Negative Sentiment: Management cut 2026 diluted EPS guidance to $1.95–$2.05 from $3.10–$3.20 and raised expected full-year net charge-offs to $400–$420 million. Third-quarter charge-offs reached about $90 million, reflecting increased defaults tied partly to third-party debt-resolution practices.
• Negative Sentiment: Credit-loss provisions totaled $213.7 million and non-interest expenses rose to roughly $220.7 million as SLM spent more to capture seasonal loan demand. These higher costs overwhelmed the strong origination growth and are the primary reasons investors have sold the stock. Sallie Mae Cuts Full-Year View

SLM Stock Down 10.8%

SLM opened at $19.42 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $24.46 and a 200 day moving average of $23.99. The company has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of 7.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.96. SLM Corporation has a 12 month low of $17.77 and a 12 month high of $31.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The credit services provider reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.36). SLM had a return on equity of 25.75% and a net margin of 20.43%. The firm had revenue of $375.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $453.34 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that SLM Corporation will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. SLM’s payout ratio is currently 18.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on SLM from $32.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on SLM from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of SLM in a report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of SLM from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.44.

SLM Company Profile

SLM Corp., commonly known as Sallie Mae, is a financial services company focused on helping students and families finance higher education. Its primary business is the origination and servicing of private education loans, which can help cover tuition, fees, books, housing and other eligible education-related expenses not fully covered by federal student aid.

The company offers private student loans for undergraduate and graduate education, as well as loans for career-training programs and other education needs.