SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Pass Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) passed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $24.81 and traded as low as $21.28. SLM shares last traded at $21.59, with a volume of 2,526,961 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $27.00 price objective on SLM in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $28.00 price objective on SLM in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on SLM from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on SLM from $32.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Zacks Research raised SLM from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.80.

SLM Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $559.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $486.05 million. SLM had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 26.42%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.200 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that SLM Corporation will post 3.14 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. SLM’s payout ratio is presently 14.40%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SLM. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in SLM by 33.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 547,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $16,087,000 after buying an additional 137,285 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of SLM by 63.1% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 261,392 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,596,000 after buying an additional 101,120 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its position in shares of SLM by 616.6% during the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 109,485 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,031,000 after buying an additional 94,207 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the 3rd quarter valued at $951,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of SLM by 31.3% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 53,673 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,452,000 after buying an additional 12,793 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

About SLM

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.