SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Issues FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 2.600-2.700 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 2.690. The company issued revenue guidance of -. SLM also updated its FY24 guidance to $2.60-$2.70 EPS.

SLM Stock Performance

SLM stock traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $21.79. The stock had a trading volume of 2,056,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,144,035. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.14. SLM has a 52 week low of $12.26 and a 52 week high of $22.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $837.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $376.43 million. SLM had a return on equity of 36.86% and a net margin of 20.65%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that SLM will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. SLM’s payout ratio is currently 18.33%.

SLM declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $650.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on SLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on SLM from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday. TheStreet upgraded shares of SLM from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of SLM from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their target price for the company from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, SLM presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $21.32.

Insider Transactions at SLM

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

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.