SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Updates FY24 Earnings Guidance

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $2.60-$2.70 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70. SLM also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 2.600-2.700 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SLM. 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 report on Tuesday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a buy rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. TheStreet upgraded SLM from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wedbush increased their target price on SLM from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $21.32.

SLM Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of SLM stock traded down $0.41 during trading on Thursday, hitting $21.69. 1,953,756 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,143,523. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.16. SLM has a 52-week low of $12.26 and a 52-week high of $22.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $20.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.14.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.18. SLM had a return on equity of 36.86% and a net margin of 20.65%. The company had revenue of $837.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $376.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that SLM will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.33%.

SLM announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to repurchase $650.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SLM news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of SLM stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total transaction of $249,483.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,564,155. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of SLM stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 52,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,093,000.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.