SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) shares hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $18.14 and last traded at $18.96, with a volume of 7195824 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on SLM. Compass Point lowered shares of SLM from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $23.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $25.00 target price (down from $29.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded SLM from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SLM has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.60.

SLM Trading Up 2.3%

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $25.49 and its 200-day moving average is $27.28. The company has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.66, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.44.

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

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is 14.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SLM. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in SLM by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 53,673 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,452,000 after buying an additional 12,793 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of SLM by 139.5% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 160,272 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,337,000 after acquiring an additional 93,364 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,649 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the third quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP lifted its position in SLM by 616.6% during the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 109,485 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,031,000 after purchasing an additional 94,207 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLM Company Profile

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.