Wedbush Weighs in on SLM Co.’s Q2 2024 Earnings (NASDAQ:SLM)

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) – Stock analysts at Wedbush dropped their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for SLM in a research note issued on Thursday, April 25th. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now expects that the credit services provider will post earnings per share of $0.44 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.45. Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for SLM’s current full-year earnings is $2.72 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for SLM’s Q3 2024 earnings at $0.49 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $0.45 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $2.66 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.25 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.48 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.59 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $0.58 EPS.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $837.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $376.43 million. SLM had a net margin of 25.15% and a return on equity of 47.72%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS.

Several other research firms also recently commented on SLM. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on SLM from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. TheStreet upgraded shares of SLM from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of SLM from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.32.

SLM Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of SLM stock opened at $21.93 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $20.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.17. SLM has a 1 year low of $12.26 and a 1 year high of $22.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.85, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.16.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. SLM’s payout ratio is currently 13.75%.

SLM declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to buyback $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total value of $1,949,296.16. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,093,000.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of SLM stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total value of $1,949,296.16. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 52,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,093,000.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of SLM stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total transaction of $249,483.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 126,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,564,155. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of SLM

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SLM. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in SLM by 81.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new position in SLM during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in SLM by 1,373.3% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in SLM during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in SLM by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,330 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 739 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

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.