SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target Raised to $28.00

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price target hoisted by Wedbush from $26.00 to $28.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the credit services provider’s stock. 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.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on SLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on SLM from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on SLM from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Citigroup upgraded SLM from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. TheStreet upgraded SLM from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $21.32.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLM opened at $21.90 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.27. SLM has a 1-year low of $12.26 and a 1-year high of $22.37. The firm has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.18. SLM had a return on equity of 45.65% and a net margin of 25.15%. The business had revenue of $837.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $376.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that SLM will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to repurchase $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th will be given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total value of $249,483.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 126,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,564,155. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total value of $249,483.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,564,155. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,093,000.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC increased its stake 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 during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in SLM by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 7,891 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of SLM by 81.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of SLM by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,330 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its stake in shares of SLM by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 26,541 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 772 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.