SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Releases FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 3.100-3.200 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 3.150. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

SLM Stock Down 4.1%

SLM stock traded down $1.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $24.18. The company had a trading volume of 5,666,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,364,038. SLM has a 12 month low of $17.77 and a 12 month high of $33.49. The company has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a PE ratio of 6.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $23.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $401.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $409.22 million. SLM had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 26.42%.SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.200 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that SLM will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research cut SLM from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $26.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, SLM currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.90.

SLM News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting SLM this week:

• Negative Sentiment: SLM reported second-quarter EPS of $0.29, missing analyst estimates of $0.44, and revenue of $401.1 million, also below expectations of $409.2 million. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company updated FY 2026 EPS guidance to $3.10-$3.20, which is roughly in line with the $3.15 consensus and suggests management still expects full-year earnings to remain stable.
• Neutral Sentiment: SLM also announced its regular quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, signaling continued capital returns to shareholders. Article Title

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Entropy Technologies LP grew its position in SLM by 616.6% during the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 109,485 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,031,000 after buying an additional 94,207 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in SLM by 33.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 547,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $16,087,000 after acquiring an additional 137,285 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in SLM by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 53,673 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,452,000 after acquiring an additional 12,793 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the 1st quarter worth $263,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of SLM by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,350 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $627,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Company Profile

SLM Corporation, operating as Sallie Mae Bank, is a leading U.S.-based consumer banking company specializing in education financing and related banking products. The company provides a range of private student loans for undergraduate and graduate studies, Parent PLUS loans, and specialized financing for career and certificate programs. In addition to its core lending services, Sallie Mae offers deposit products including savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and credit cards tailored to students and young adults.

Founded in 1972 as the Student Loan Marketing Association—a government-sponsored enterprise—Sallie Mae was privatized in 2004 and has since focused on expanding its private education loan offerings and digital banking solutions.