SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) Stock Has Average Price Target of $29.40 According to Brokerages

Shares of SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $29.22.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered SLM from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $26.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of SLM in a report on Monday, September 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $28.00 price target on SLM in a research note on Friday, July 24th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in SLM by 48.7% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,016 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in SLM during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in SLM during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $77,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of SLM by 19.4% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of SLM by 738.9% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 4,077 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 3,591 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Stock Performance

SLM stock opened at $21.81 on Tuesday. SLM has a 1-year low of $17.77 and a 1-year 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. The firm has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 6.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $25.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.99.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $401.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $409.22 million. SLM had a return on equity of 33.81% and a net margin of 26.09%. The firm’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.200 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that SLM will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.53%.

SLM Company Profile

SLM Corp., operating under the Sallie Mae brand, is a financial services company focused on education financing. It primarily provides private student loans to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as education loans for parents and other creditworthy borrowers. Sallie Mae also offers related products and resources designed to help families plan and pay for college.

The company’s private education loans can be used for eligible expenses such as tuition, fees, books, supplies, and living costs.