SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target Lowered to $22.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price target decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $26.00 to $22.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an underweight rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

SLM has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Zacks Research upgraded SLM from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Compass Point upgraded SLM from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on SLM from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered SLM from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLM has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.10.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM stock opened at $21.44 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.44, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The business has a fifty day moving average of $22.05 and a 200 day moving average of $25.56. SLM has a 1 year low of $17.77 and a 1 year high of $34.97.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion during 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 last year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700-2.800 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that SLM will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SLM. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of SLM by 33.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 547,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $16,087,000 after purchasing an additional 137,285 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of SLM by 616.6% in the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 109,485 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,031,000 after purchasing an additional 94,207 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased 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 in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,131,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the 3rd quarter valued at about $951,000. 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.