SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target Raised to $28.00 at Wedbush

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its target price raised by Wedbush from $26.00 to $28.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Wedbush also issued estimates for SLM’s Q2 2024 earnings at $0.44 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.49 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $0.45 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $2.66 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.25 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.48 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.59 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $0.58 EPS.

Several other research analysts have also commented on SLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on SLM from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on SLM in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a buy rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. TheStreet upgraded SLM from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded SLM from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $21.32.

SLM Trading Down 0.1 %

SLM opened at $21.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.84, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67. SLM has a 12 month low of $12.26 and a 12 month high of $22.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $20.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.30.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $837.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $376.43 million. SLM had a return on equity of 45.65% and a net margin of 25.15%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that SLM will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $650.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. SLM’s payout ratio is 13.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total transaction of $1,949,296.16. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 52,751 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,000.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other SLM news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total transaction of $1,949,296.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 52,751 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,000.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total value of $249,483.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,564,155. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SLM. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in SLM by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,136,784 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $633,575,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,557 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 11,786,932 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $225,574,000 after buying an additional 1,969,885 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in SLM by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,473,007 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $123,767,000 after acquiring an additional 170,764 shares during the last quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP grew its stake in SLM by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP now owns 4,282,732 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $58,331,000 after acquiring an additional 357,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in SLM by 967.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,923,491 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,818,000 after acquiring an additional 2,649,626 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.