Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Stock Price

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price objective reduced by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $30.00 to $26.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 34.96% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on SLM. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of SLM in a research report on Monday, September 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on SLM from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on SLM from $32.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded SLM from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.44.

SLM Stock Performance

NASDAQ SLM traded down $2.50 on Friday, hitting $19.27. 7,904,626 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,065,947. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $24.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of 5.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. SLM has a 1-year low of $17.77 and a 1-year high of $31.06.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The credit services provider reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.36). The business had revenue of $375.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $453.34 million. SLM had a return on equity of 33.81% and a net margin of 26.09%. The firm’s revenue was down 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that SLM will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of SLM by 9.2% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,336 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 787 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of SLM by 78.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 15,106 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 6,654 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLM during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Vest Financial LLC grew its position in shares of SLM by 44.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 270,049 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,111,000 after acquiring an additional 82,611 shares during the period. Finally, Wavvest Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the 3rd quarter valued at about $779,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting SLM

Here are the key news stories impacting SLM this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive despite lowering their targets. Royal Bank of Canada reduced its target from $28 to $26 while maintaining an “outperform” rating, and TD Cowen cut its target from $32 to $27 while retaining a “buy” rating. Both targets imply substantial upside from recent levels. Royal Bank of Canada analyst rating TD Cowen analyst rating
• Positive Sentiment: Private education loan originations increased 15% year over year to $3.4 billion, with graduate-loan originations rising 119%. Sixth Street also committed to purchase $1.5 billion of student loans annually, potentially supporting future loan volume and funding. SLM long-term investor takeaways
• Neutral Sentiment: SLM repurchased 5.1 million shares for $132.2 million during the quarter and announced a fourth-quarter dividend payable December 15, providing shareholder returns despite the weaker operating results. SLM dividend announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter results were substantially below expectations: SLM reported a $0.19 per-share loss versus consensus for $0.17 of earnings, while revenue fell 31.3% year over year to $375.5 million, below the $453.3 million estimate. SLM third-quarter financial results
• Negative Sentiment: Higher credit costs drove the deterioration. Third-quarter provisions for credit losses totaled $213.7 million, net charge-offs reached $90 million, and delinquencies were 4.2% of loans in repayment. SLM now expects 2026 EPS of $1.95–$2.05, down from prior guidance of $3.10–$3.20 and below the roughly $3.12 analyst consensus. SLM cuts full-year guidance

SLM Company Profile

SLM Corp., commonly known as Sallie Mae, is a financial services company focused on helping students and families finance higher education. Its primary business is the origination and servicing of private education loans, which can help cover tuition, fees, books, housing and other eligible education-related expenses not fully covered by federal student aid.

The company offers private student loans for undergraduate and graduate education, as well as loans for career-training programs and other education needs.