SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $23.72 and last traded at $23.9880, with a volume of 45082 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $23.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on SLM from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of SLM from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Compass Point downgraded shares of SLM from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, SLM currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.60.

SLM Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.91, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.09. 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 (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $657.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $383.43 million. SLM had a net margin of 26.04% and a return on equity of 34.79%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700-2.800 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that SLM Corporation will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is presently 14.99%.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in SLM during the 3rd quarter valued at about $69,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of SLM in the third quarter valued at approximately $118,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of SLM by 118.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,995 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 2,164 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in SLM by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,649 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $207,000 after buying an additional 669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in SLM by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 8,315 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 853 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.