SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Updates FY24 Earnings Guidance

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $2.60-$2.70 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70. SLM also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 2.600-2.700 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SLM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on SLM in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a buy rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup raised SLM from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $23.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of SLM from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, TheStreet upgraded SLM from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, SLM currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $21.32.

SLM Price Performance

SLM stock traded down $0.41 during trading on Thursday, reaching $21.69. The company had a trading volume of 1,953,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,143,523. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a PE ratio of 9.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.16. SLM has a 1-year low of $12.26 and a 1-year high of $22.37.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $837.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $376.43 million. SLM had a return on equity of 36.86% and a net margin of 20.65%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that SLM will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.33%.

SLM declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to repurchase $650.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In related news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of SLM stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total transaction of $249,483.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,564,155. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total transaction of $249,483.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,564,155. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

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.