SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) Short Interest Update

SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 21,713,822 shares, a growth of 21.5% from the February 26th total of 17,872,341 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,615,002 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days. Currently, 11.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

SLM Stock Up 1.4%

SLM stock opened at $20.64 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a PE ratio of 5.95, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.19. SLM has a 1 year low of $17.77 and a 1 year high of $34.97. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.44.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $383.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700-2.800 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that SLM will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in SLM by 33.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 547,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $16,087,000 after purchasing an additional 137,285 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of SLM by 139.5% in the fourth 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. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 616.6% in the third 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 last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 53,673 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,452,000 after buying an additional 12,793 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLM during the 3rd quarter worth $1,131,000. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLM has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of SLM in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Compass Point raised SLM from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research raised SLM from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered SLM from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.50.

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.