SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $35.00.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of SLM from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 price target (up previously from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In related news, EVP Kerri A. Palmer sold 55,000 shares of SLM stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.21, for a total transaction of $1,771,550.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 119,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,841,139.13. The trade was a 31.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 37.7% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 355.4% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,899 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 1,482 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:SLM opened at $30.66 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02. SLM has a 12 month low of $19.64 and a 12 month high of $34.97. The company has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a PE ratio of 15.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.80.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $403.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $370.26 million. SLM had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 15.46%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. SLM has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.100 EPS. Research analysts forecast that SLM will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. SLM’s payout ratio is 26.13%.

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.