Brokerages Set SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target at $29.80

SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $29.40.

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $28.00 price objective on SLM in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on SLM from $32.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $26.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley set a $27.00 price target on SLM in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on SLM from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in SLM by 33.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 547,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $16,087,000 after purchasing an additional 137,285 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of SLM by 63.1% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 261,392 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,596,000 after buying an additional 101,120 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 616.6% in the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 109,485 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,031,000 after buying an additional 94,207 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 53,673 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,452,000 after buying an additional 12,793 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised 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 buying an additional 1,319 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Trading Up 3.5%

SLM stock opened at $24.73 on Friday. SLM has a 1 year low of $17.77 and a 1 year high of $33.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $22.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.85, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.94.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $559.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $486.05 million. SLM had a net margin of 26.42% and a return on equity of 34.80%. SLM’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.200 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that SLM will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.40%.

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.