SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.18 EPS

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The credit services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.18, RTT News reports. SLM had a return on equity of 36.86% and a net margin of 20.65%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. SLM updated its FY24 guidance to $2.60-$2.70 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 2.600-2.700 EPS.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM stock opened at $22.10 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.14. SLM has a one year low of $12.26 and a one year high of $22.20. The company has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of 9.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 6th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

SLM declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup upgraded shares of SLM from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $23.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLM has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.32.

About SLM

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.