SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

SLM has been the topic of several other research reports. Compass Point cut SLM from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $23.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on SLM from $40.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $30.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of SLM from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.70.

SLM Stock Down 4.0%

SLM opened at $25.83 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.44, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.36. SLM has a 52 week low of $23.81 and a 52 week high of $34.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.44.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.17. SLM had a net margin of 26.04% and a return on equity of 34.79%. The firm had revenue of $656.82 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $383.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700-2.800 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that SLM will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 33.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 547,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $16,087,000 after buying an additional 137,285 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in SLM by 139.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 160,272 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,337,000 after acquiring an additional 93,364 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP boosted its position in SLM by 616.6% during the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 109,485 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,031,000 after acquiring an additional 94,207 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in shares of SLM by 0.3% in the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 96,570 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,167,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLM during the third quarter valued at $1,131,000. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

More SLM News

Here are the key news stories impacting SLM this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research upgraded SLM from “strong sell” to “hold”, a modest analyst boost that may limit downside pressure. Zacks upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: SLM presented at the Bank of America Financial Services Conference; the transcript provides management comments that could be used by investors to reassess growth and credit outlooks but does not by itself change the litigation story. BofA conference transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple plaintiff law firms have filed/announced a securities‑class action and are soliciting lead‑plaintiff candidates for the class period (July 25–Aug 14, 2025), with a Feb. 17, 2026 deadline—this increases legal uncertainty and likely explains much of today’s selling pressure. Representative notice: Robbins Geller / Newsfile. Investor deadline notice

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.