SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $29.80.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded SLM from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on SLM from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $26.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $28.00 target price on SLM in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of SLM from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SLM. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SLM during the second quarter worth approximately $455,576,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new stake in SLM in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $169,136,000. Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in SLM in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $97,917,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in SLM during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,251,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in SLM during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,268,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM opened at $26.46 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a PE ratio of 7.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.96. SLM has a fifty-two week low of $17.77 and a fifty-two week high of $32.07. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.17). SLM had a return on equity of 33.81% and a net margin of 26.09%.The business had revenue of $401.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $409.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.200 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that SLM will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.53%.

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.