SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twelve ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.50.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SLM shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of SLM in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded SLM from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (down from $29.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Compass Point upgraded shares of SLM from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday.

Institutional Trading of SLM

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in SLM by 9.6% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in SLM by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 8,315 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 853 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in SLM by 6.6% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,350 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 6.1% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 36,889 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,210,000 after purchasing an additional 2,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 118.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,995 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 2,164 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Trading Up 3.7%

SLM stock opened at $21.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.44. SLM has a twelve month low of $17.77 and a twelve month high of $34.97. The company has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.17, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $22.78 and a 200-day moving average of $25.84.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.17. SLM had a return on equity of 34.79% and a net margin of 26.04%.The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $383.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700-2.800 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that SLM will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is currently 14.99%.

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.