Research Analysts Set Expectations for SLM FY2024 Earnings

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) - Research analysts at Wedbush decreased their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for SLM in a report issued on Tuesday, November 5th. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now forecasts that the credit services provider will post earnings of $2.60 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $2.76. 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 $2.75 per share.

SLM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $25.45.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of SLM stock traded up $2.60 on Wednesday, hitting $24.48. 3,923,378 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,801,250. SLM has a 1-year low of $13.93 and a 1-year high of $24.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.56.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) EPS 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 business had revenue of $652.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 4.8% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,594 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in SLM by 13.3% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,077 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in SLM by 3.1% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 21,959 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $478,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its stake in SLM by 5.3% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,708 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in SLM by 9.9% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,017 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 990 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

SLM Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This is a positive change from SLM's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.