SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $29.80.

SLM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of SLM from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of SLM in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $28.00 target price on shares of SLM in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th.

SLM Stock Performance

SLM stock opened at $22.15 on Friday. SLM has a twelve month low of $17.77 and a twelve month high of $34.97. The company has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a PE ratio of 6.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.01. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $21.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.59.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced 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 net margin of 26.42% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The business had revenue of $559.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $486.05 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.200 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that SLM will post 3.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.3%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.40%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SLM. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of SLM by 19.4% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of SLM in the third quarter worth about $69,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of SLM by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,649 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in shares of SLM by 11.4% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of SLM in the first quarter worth about $263,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

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.