SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Stock Price Up 4.1% – Time to Buy?

SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM)’s share price rose 4.1% during trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $23.42 and last traded at $23.4440. 996,542 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 3,023,028 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut SLM from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of SLM in a report on Monday, September 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on SLM from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on SLM from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLM currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.40.

SLM Stock Down 1.0%

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 company has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a PE ratio of 6.34, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s fifty day moving average is $25.39 and its 200-day moving average is $23.98.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $401.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $409.22 million. SLM had a net margin of 26.09% and a return on equity of 33.81%. SLM’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.200 EPS. On average, analysts predict that SLM Corporation will post 3.11 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 2.3%. SLM’s payout ratio is presently 14.53%.

Institutional Trading of SLM

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SLM. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in SLM by 48.7% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,016 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of SLM during the 2nd quarter valued at about $55,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of SLM during the 2nd quarter valued at about $77,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of SLM by 19.4% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 738.9% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 4,077 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 3,591 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Company Profile

SLM Corp., operating under the Sallie Mae brand, is a financial services company focused on education financing. It primarily provides private student loans to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as education loans for parents and other creditworthy borrowers. Sallie Mae also offers related products and resources designed to help families plan and pay for college.

The company’s private education loans can be used for eligible expenses such as tuition, fees, books, supplies, and living costs.