SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) Receives $29.80 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twelve analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.80.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SLM. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $28.00 target price on SLM in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Compass Point raised SLM from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $27.00 price objective on SLM in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research downgraded SLM from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on SLM from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th.

SLM Stock Performance

NASDAQ SLM opened at $22.38 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $22.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.03. SLM has a fifty-two week low of $17.77 and a fifty-two week high of $34.97.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $559.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $486.05 million. SLM had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 26.42%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.200 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that SLM will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is 14.40%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in SLM by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in SLM by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,649 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $207,000 after acquiring an additional 669 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in SLM by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,350 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $627,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in SLM by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 36,889 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,210,000 after acquiring an additional 2,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in SLM in the 3rd quarter valued at $69,000. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

About SLM

SLM Corporation, operating as Sallie Mae Bank, is a leading U.S.-based consumer banking company specializing in education financing and related banking products. The company provides a range of private student loans for undergraduate and graduate studies, Parent PLUS loans, and specialized financing for career and certificate programs. In addition to its core lending services, Sallie Mae offers deposit products including savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and credit cards tailored to students and young adults.

Founded in 1972 as the Student Loan Marketing Association—a government-sponsored enterprise—Sallie Mae was privatized in 2004 and has since focused on expanding its private education loan offerings and digital banking solutions.