Wedbush Research Analysts Reduce Earnings Estimates for SLM

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) - Analysts at Wedbush reduced their Q4 2024 EPS estimates for SLM in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, November 5th. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now anticipates that the credit services provider will post earnings of $0.44 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.59. Wedbush currently has a "Outperform" rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for SLM's current full-year earnings is $2.75 per share.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.30). SLM had a return on equity of 35.92% and a net margin of 22.18%. The firm had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.11 EPS.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $25.45.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM traded down $0.77 on Thursday, reaching $23.71. 1,744,556 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,800,988. SLM has a twelve month low of $13.93 and a twelve month high of $24.59. The company has a fifty day moving average of $22.11 and a 200-day moving average of $21.59. The company has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.53, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of SLM by 5.7% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,461,356 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $271,626,000 after buying an additional 674,424 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in SLM by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,687,920 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $118,248,000 after purchasing an additional 119,342 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of SLM by 23.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,453,521 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $92,589,000 after purchasing an additional 859,625 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of SLM by 3,800.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,406,384 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $55,034,000 after purchasing an additional 2,344,691 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 107.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,366,642 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $49,202,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,015 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLM Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. This is an increase from SLM's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. SLM's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.33%.

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.