SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Stock Passes Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) shares passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.45 and traded as high as $25.12. SLM shares last traded at $24.61, with a volume of 2,660,597 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SLM. Zacks Research cut SLM from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Barclays raised their price target on SLM from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $28.00 price target on SLM in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $27.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Compass Point raised shares of SLM from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.80.

SLM Trading Up 3.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59. The business’s fifty day moving average is $22.53 and its 200-day moving average is $23.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a PE ratio of 7.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.98.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $559.99 million for 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%.The company’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.200 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that SLM Corporation will post 3.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.40%.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in SLM by 19.4% during 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. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of SLM during the third quarter worth about $69,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of SLM by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,649 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in SLM in the first quarter worth about $263,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in SLM by 6.6% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,350 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $627,000 after buying an additional 1,319 shares during the last quarter. 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.