SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

Posted by Mark Dietrich on Jul 26th, 2026

Wall Street Zen cut shares of SLM (NASDAQ:SLM – Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on SLM. Compass Point raised shares of SLM from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $23.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, March 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $28.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a report on Friday. Zacks Research cut shares of SLM from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded SLM from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on SLM from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.80.

Read Our Latest Research Report on SLM

SLM Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM opened at $24.29 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59. SLM has a 52-week low of $17.77 and a 52-week high of $33.49. The company has a 50 day moving average of $23.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.32. The company has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.94.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.17). SLM had a net margin of 26.09% and a return on equity of 34.07%. The firm had revenue of $401.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $409.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.200 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that SLM will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.53%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SLM. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in SLM by 33.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 547,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $16,087,000 after purchasing an additional 137,285 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 63.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 261,392 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,596,000 after purchasing an additional 101,120 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its position in shares of SLM by 616.6% in the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 109,485 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,031,000 after buying an additional 94,207 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of SLM by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 56,179 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,457,000 after buying an additional 7,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of SLM by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 53,673 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,452,000 after buying an additional 12,793 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting SLM this week:

Positive Sentiment: SLM reaffirmed/issued FY 2026 EPS guidance of 3.10 to 3.20, which is roughly in line with consensus and may help limit downside if investors focus on the full-year outlook rather than the quarter. Sallie Mae Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
Positive Sentiment: The company also highlighted loan origination growth, showing the underlying lending franchise is still expanding even as earnings were weak. Sallie Mae Q2 Earnings Miss Estimates, NII Dips, Expenses Rise Y/Y
Neutral Sentiment: Investor focus remains split between the “student loan reform” narrative and valuation arguments, which may be supporting some longer-term interest in the stock despite the weak quarter. SLM (SLM) Heads Into Earnings On Student Loan Reform Narrative and Undervalued Debate
Negative Sentiment: SLM reported Q2 EPS of $0.29 versus estimates of $0.46, while revenue of $401.1 million also missed expectations, reinforcing concerns about near-term earnings momentum. SLM earnings report and conference call
Negative Sentiment: Management cited lower net interest income, rising expenses, and margin pressure, all of which weigh on profitability and help explain why the stock is moving lower. Sallie Mae (SLM) Misses Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates

SLM Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.