SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target Raised to $28.00 at Wedbush

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price objective boosted by Wedbush from $26.00 to $28.00 in a research note released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Wedbush also issued estimates for SLM’s Q2 2024 earnings at $0.44 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.49 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $0.45 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $2.66 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.25 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.48 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.59 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $0.58 EPS.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on SLM. Citigroup raised SLM from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the company from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. TheStreet upgraded SLM from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on SLM in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a buy rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on SLM from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $21.32.

SLM Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of SLM stock opened at $21.90 on Thursday. SLM has a 1 year low of $12.26 and a 1 year high of $22.37. The firm has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a PE ratio of 6.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $20.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.18. SLM had a return on equity of 45.65% and a net margin of 25.15%. The firm had revenue of $837.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $376.43 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that SLM will post 2.7 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.75%.

SLM declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to buyback $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at SLM

In related news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total transaction of $249,483.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,564,155. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total transaction of $249,483.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,564,155. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total value of $1,949,296.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,751 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,000.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC increased its stake in SLM by 37.0% in the 1st quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in SLM by 186.3% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,517,251 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $54,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,638,003 shares during the period. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in SLM by 135.7% in the 1st quarter. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. now owns 176,800 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,852,000 after purchasing an additional 101,800 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in SLM in the 1st quarter worth approximately $748,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in SLM by 46.8% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,903 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About SLM

SLM Corporation, through its subsidiaries, originates and services private education loans to students and their families to finance the cost of their education in the United States. It is also involved in the provision of retail deposit accounts, including certificates of deposit, money market accounts, and high-yield savings accounts; and interest-bearing omnibus accounts.