SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Earns “Outperform” Rating from Wedbush

Wedbush reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) in a research report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $26.00 target price on the credit services provider’s stock. Wedbush also issued estimates for SLM’s Q1 2025 earnings at $1.09 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.68 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $0.74 EPS.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, SLM currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.45.

SLM Stock Performance

NASDAQ SLM opened at $21.90 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a PE ratio of 6.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $21.94 and a 200-day moving average of $21.50. SLM has a 52-week low of $12.26 and a 52-week high of $23.95.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.30). SLM had a return on equity of 41.84% and a net margin of 24.67%. The company had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that SLM will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. This is a boost from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. SLM’s payout ratio is 13.75%.

Insider Activity at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total value of $102,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 101,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,294,811.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in SLM by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,077 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in SLM by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 21,959 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $478,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of SLM by 5.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,708 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $428,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 9.9% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,017 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 990 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of SLM by 358.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,399 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLM Company Profile

SLM Corporation, through its subsidiaries, originates and services private education loans to students and their families to finance the cost of their education in the United States. It is also involved in the provision of retail deposit accounts, including certificates of deposit, money market accounts, and high-yield savings accounts; and interest-bearing omnibus accounts.