Wedbush Equities Analysts Lift Earnings Estimates for SLM

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Wedbush increased their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of SLM in a report issued on Monday, November 25th. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now forecasts that the credit services provider will post earnings per share of $1.19 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $1.09. Wedbush has a "Outperform" rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for SLM's current full-year earnings is $2.73 per share.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last posted 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). SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. The company had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.40 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.11 EPS.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on SLM in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Barclays reduced their target price on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLM currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $25.45.

SLM Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of SLM stock traded down $0.41 on Wednesday, reaching $27.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 232,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,836,831. The company has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $23.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.85. SLM has a 52 week low of $14.03 and a 52 week high of $28.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SLM. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in SLM during the third quarter valued at $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of SLM by 358.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in SLM during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $60,000. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLM Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This is an increase from SLM's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. SLM's payout ratio is 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.