Brokerages Set SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target at $31.60

SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.60.

SLM has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $25.00 price target (down from $29.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Compass Point cut shares of SLM from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of SLM from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th.

SLM Price Performance

SLM opened at $19.09 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.50, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50-day moving average of $25.16 and a 200-day moving average of $27.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.28. SLM has a 1-year low of $17.77 and a 1-year high of $34.97.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.17. SLM had a return on equity of 34.79% and a net margin of 26.04%.The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $383.43 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700-2.800 EPS. Equities analysts expect that SLM will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $16,087,000 after acquiring an additional 137,285 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of SLM by 139.5% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 160,272 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,337,000 after purchasing an additional 93,364 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 616.6% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 0.3% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 96,570 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,167,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of SLM by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 53,673 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,452,000 after purchasing an additional 12,793 shares during the period. 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.