SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.18 EPS

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.18, RTT News reports. The business had revenue of $837.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $376.43 million. SLM had a return on equity of 45.65% and a net margin of 25.15%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. SLM updated its FY24 guidance to $2.60-$2.70 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 2.600-2.700 EPS.

SLM Price Performance

SLM opened at $21.90 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $20.94 and a 200-day moving average of $18.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.84, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.16. SLM has a 12-month low of $12.26 and a 12-month high of $22.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. SLM’s payout ratio is currently 13.75%.

Insider Activity

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

SLM announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to repurchase $650.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SLM. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on SLM from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on SLM in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on SLM from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, TheStreet raised SLM from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.32.

SLM Company Profile

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.