SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Stock Price Down 5.4% – What’s Next?

SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM)’s stock price dropped 5.4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $21.37 and last traded at $21.7980. Approximately 636,756 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 3,379,198 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.05.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLM has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $28.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a report on Friday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Compass Point upgraded shares of SLM from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $23.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, March 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of SLM from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SLM presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.80.

SLM Stock Down 4.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $22.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.15.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $559.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $486.05 million. SLM had a net margin of 26.42% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.200 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that SLM Corporation will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.40%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SLM. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of SLM by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,350 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $627,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of SLM during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $263,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of SLM by 33.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 547,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $16,087,000 after acquiring an additional 137,285 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of SLM by 118.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,995 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 2,164 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of SLM by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 36,889 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,210,000 after acquiring an additional 2,109 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SLM Company Profile

SLM Corporation, operating as Sallie Mae Bank, is a leading U.S.-based consumer banking company specializing in education financing and related banking products. The company provides a range of private student loans for undergraduate and graduate studies, Parent PLUS loans, and specialized financing for career and certificate programs. In addition to its core lending services, Sallie Mae offers deposit products including savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and credit cards tailored to students and young adults.

Founded in 1972 as the Student Loan Marketing Association—a government-sponsored enterprise—Sallie Mae was privatized in 2004 and has since focused on expanding its private education loan offerings and digital banking solutions.