Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Pessimistic Forecast for SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Stock Price

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price objective lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $37.00 to $31.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on SLM in a report on Monday, August 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on SLM from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of SLM in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on SLM from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on SLM to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, SLM currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.78.

SLM Trading Up 1.2%

SLM opened at $27.55 on Wednesday. SLM has a one year low of $21.10 and a one year high of $34.97. The company has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.84, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.71.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). SLM had a net margin of 15.46% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The business had revenue of $403.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $370.26 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. SLM has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.100 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that SLM will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 4th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of SLM

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 37.7% in 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 during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 355.4% in 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 during the period. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLM Company Profile

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.