SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) Receives $29.80 Average Price Target from Analysts

SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twelve ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.80.

SLM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on SLM from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of SLM from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of SLM from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $28.00 target price on shares of SLM in a research note on Friday, July 24th.

SLM Stock Down 3.3%

NASDAQ:SLM opened at $24.25 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $26.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.67. SLM has a 52 week low of $17.77 and a 52 week high of $31.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.96.

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

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the 2nd quarter valued at about $55,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in SLM by 19.4% during 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. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in SLM during the second quarter worth approximately $77,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in SLM by 738.9% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 4,077 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 3,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in SLM in the second quarter valued at approximately $215,000. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLM Company Profile

SLM Corporation, commonly known as Sallie Mae, is a U.S.-based education finance company that provides private education loans to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as to parents and other borrowers. Its lending products are designed to help cover tuition, fees, housing, books and other qualified education expenses not fully met by federal financial aid or other funding sources.

Through Sallie Mae Bank, the company also offers consumer deposit products, including savings accounts, certificates of deposit and money market accounts.