SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) Receives $29.80 Average PT from Brokerages

SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.80.

Several research firms have weighed in on SLM. Weiss Ratings lowered SLM from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Barclays increased their target price on SLM from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $27.00 target price on SLM in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research lowered SLM from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on SLM from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SLM. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 33.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 547,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $16,087,000 after acquiring an additional 137,285 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 63.1% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 261,392 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,596,000 after acquiring an additional 101,120 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 616.6% in the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 109,485 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,031,000 after acquiring an additional 94,207 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the third quarter worth about $951,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 31.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SLM Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of SLM opened at $22.38 on Wednesday. SLM has a 12-month low of $17.77 and a 12-month high of $34.97. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a PE ratio of 6.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.98.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.40. SLM had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 26.42%.The firm had revenue of $559.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $486.05 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.200 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that SLM will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.40%.

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.