SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target Increased to $28.00 by Analysts at Wedbush

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price objective increased by Wedbush from $26.00 to $28.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Wedbush also issued estimates for SLM’s Q2 2024 earnings at $0.44 EPS, 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 has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on SLM from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on SLM in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a buy rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. TheStreet upgraded SLM from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on SLM from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $21.32.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLM traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $22.00. The stock had a trading volume of 613,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,137,043. The business’s fifty day moving average is $20.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.85, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.16. SLM has a twelve month low of $12.26 and a twelve month high of $22.37.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.18. SLM had a return on equity of 47.72% and a net margin of 25.15%. The firm had revenue of $837.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $376.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that SLM will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.75%.

SLM announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to buyback $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at SLM

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SLM. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,785,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of SLM during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $713,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 10,266 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 155,595 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,092,000 after acquiring an additional 31,595 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 684,103 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,317,000 after acquiring an additional 162,853 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SLM Company Profile

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.