JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Stock Price

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price objective hoisted by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $24.00 to $25.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 0.77% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on SLM. 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 report on Friday. Morgan Stanley set a $27.00 price objective on SLM in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research cut SLM from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Compass Point raised shares of 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 report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.80.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM stock traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $24.81. 567,478 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,387,013. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $22.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.46. The company has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.94. SLM has a 12-month low of $17.77 and a 12-month high of $33.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $559.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $486.05 million. SLM had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 26.42%.SLM’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.200 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that SLM will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SLM. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in SLM by 33.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 547,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $16,087,000 after buying an additional 137,285 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in SLM by 63.1% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 261,392 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,596,000 after acquiring an additional 101,120 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP boosted its position in SLM by 616.6% in the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 109,485 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,031,000 after buying an additional 94,207 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in 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 period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in SLM by 31.3% during 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. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.