SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) PT Raised to $28.00 at Wedbush

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at Wedbush from $26.00 to $28.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 27.85% from the company’s previous close. Wedbush also issued estimates for SLM’s Q2 2024 earnings at $0.44 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.49 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $0.45 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $2.66 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.25 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.48 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.59 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $0.58 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. TheStreet raised shares of SLM from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup raised shares of SLM from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $23.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of SLM from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of SLM from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, SLM presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.32.

SLM Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SLM opened at $21.90 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company has a fifty day moving average of $20.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a PE ratio of 6.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.16. SLM has a fifty-two week low of $12.26 and a fifty-two week high of $22.37.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $837.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $376.43 million. SLM had a net margin of 25.15% and a return on equity of 47.72%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that SLM will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other SLM news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were 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 owns 52,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,093,000.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other SLM news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were 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 owns 52,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,093,000.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,564,155. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SLM. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in SLM by 1,373.3% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in SLM by 81.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in SLM in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC raised its holdings in SLM by 37.0% in the first quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in SLM in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

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.