SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) Receives $31.60 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twelve research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.60.

Several research firms have commented on SLM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on SLM from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and set a $25.00 price objective (down from $29.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of SLM in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of SLM in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of SLM from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th.

SLM Stock Performance

NASDAQ SLM opened at $20.36 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $23.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.44, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.24. SLM has a 52-week low of $17.77 and a 52-week high of $34.97.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released 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 business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $383.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700-2.800 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that SLM will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is 14.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in SLM by 31.3% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 53,673 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,452,000 after purchasing an additional 12,793 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of SLM by 139.5% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 160,272 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,337,000 after purchasing an additional 93,364 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 669 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of SLM in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $69,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 94,207 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Company Profile

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.