Equities Analysts Issue Forecasts for SLM FY2024 Earnings

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) – Research analysts at Wedbush reduced their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of SLM in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, November 5th. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now expects that the credit services provider will earn $2.60 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $2.76. Wedbush has a “Outperform” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for SLM’s current full-year earnings is $2.75 per share.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.30). SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. The business had revenue of $652.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Bank of America began coverage on SLM in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, SLM presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.45.

SLM Stock Up 11.9 %

SLM opened at $24.48 on Wednesday. SLM has a 52 week low of $13.93 and a 52 week high of $24.53. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The company has a market cap of $5.20 billion, a PE ratio of 8.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.16.

SLM Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is a positive change from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in SLM by 117.5% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 73,140 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,594,000 after acquiring an additional 39,519 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake in shares of SLM by 50.7% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 290,636 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,042,000 after purchasing an additional 97,832 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of SLM by 77.8% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 64,514 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,406,000 after purchasing an additional 28,236 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in SLM by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 816,274 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,788,000 after buying an additional 26,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shikiar Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in SLM by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. now owns 211,350 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,394,000 after buying an additional 34,550 shares during the last quarter. 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.