SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Royal Bank Of Canada

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price target reduced by Royal Bank Of Canada from $28.00 to $26.00 in a research note released on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded SLM from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of SLM from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, SLM currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.44.

SLM Price Performance

SLM stock opened at $19.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.23. SLM has a 52 week low of $17.77 and a 52 week high of $31.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $24.46 and a 200-day moving average of $24.01.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The credit services provider reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.36). The business had revenue of $375.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $453.34 million. SLM had a net margin of 20.43% and a return on equity of 26.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that SLM will post 2.00 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SLM. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in SLM during the 2nd quarter worth about $455,576,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the 2nd quarter valued at about $169,136,000. Azora Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the 2nd quarter valued at about $97,917,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,251,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the second quarter valued at about $37,268,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about SLM

Here are the key news stories impacting SLM this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Private education loan originations rose 15% year over year to a record $3.4 billion, while graduate-loan originations increased 119%. SLM also repurchased 5.1 million shares for $132.2 million, supporting per-share value over the longer term. Sallie Mae Reports Third-Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Sixth Street committed to purchase approximately $1.5 billion of student loans annually, potentially expanding SLM’s funding and loan-origination capacity. SLM: Three Key Takeaways
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley, RBC, and TD Cowen lowered their price targets to $26, $26, and $27, respectively, but retained positive ratings ranging from overweight to buy. The revisions indicate reduced near-term expectations while implying substantial potential upside from recent levels.
• Negative Sentiment: SLM reported a $35.9 million net loss attributable to common stock, or $0.19 per share, compared with $0.63 of earnings a year earlier. Revenue fell 31.3% year over year to approximately $375.5 million, below the $453.3 million consensus estimate. SLM Quarterly Earnings Results
• Negative Sentiment: Management cut 2026 diluted EPS guidance to $1.95–$2.05 from $3.10–$3.20 and raised expected full-year net charge-offs to $400–$420 million. Third-quarter charge-offs reached about $90 million, reflecting increased defaults tied partly to third-party debt-resolution practices.
• Negative Sentiment: Credit-loss provisions totaled $213.7 million and non-interest expenses rose to roughly $220.7 million as SLM spent more to capture seasonal loan demand. These higher costs overwhelmed the strong origination growth and are the primary reasons investors have sold the stock. Sallie Mae Cuts Full-Year View

SLM Company Profile

SLM Corp., commonly known as Sallie Mae, is a financial services company focused on helping students and families finance higher education. Its primary business is the origination and servicing of private education loans, which can help cover tuition, fees, books, housing and other eligible education-related expenses not fully covered by federal student aid.

The company offers private student loans for undergraduate and graduate education, as well as loans for career-training programs and other education needs.