Wedbush Issues Pessimistic Estimate for SLM Earnings

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Wedbush reduced their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of SLM in a report released on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now forecasts that the credit services provider will post earnings of $1.09 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.25. Wedbush has a "Outperform" rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for SLM's current full-year earnings is $2.85 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for SLM's Q3 2025 earnings at $0.68 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $0.74 EPS.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $652.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $363.40 million. SLM had a return on equity of 41.84% and a net margin of 24.67%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays dropped their target price on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SLM presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.67.

SLM Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ SLM traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $21.90. 2,880,548 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,793,484. The company has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.15. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $21.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. SLM has a one year low of $12.26 and a one year high of $23.95.

SLM Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is Thursday, December 5th. This is a positive change from SLM's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. SLM's payout ratio is currently 13.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total value of $102,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 101,093 shares in the company, valued at $2,294,811.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SLM. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of SLM by 1,373.3% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in SLM during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of SLM by 358.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,399 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLM in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 378.1% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,050 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 2,412 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

About SLM

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.