SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Given New $29.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price target cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $32.00 to $29.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

SLM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of SLM in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered SLM from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on SLM from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Zacks Research raised SLM from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $25.00 target price (down from $29.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, SLM has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.10.

SLM Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ SLM opened at $21.44 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.18, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.04. 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 has a 52-week low of $17.77 and a 52-week high of $34.97. The business’s 50 day moving average is $22.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.56.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $383.43 million. SLM had a return on equity of 34.79% and a net margin of 26.04%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700-2.800 EPS. Research analysts predict that SLM will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is 14.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in SLM in the third quarter valued at $1,131,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in SLM by 1,289.3% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 66,908 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,852,000 after buying an additional 62,092 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in SLM in the third quarter valued at $951,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in SLM by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,649 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $207,000 after buying an additional 669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in SLM in the third quarter valued at $69,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.