Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Price Target to $31.00

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) had its price objective lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $37.00 to $31.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on SLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded SLM from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $29.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on SLM in a research note on Monday, August 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on SLM from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on SLM from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, SLM presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.78.

SLM Stock Performance

SLM stock opened at $27.55 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.71. SLM has a twelve month low of $21.10 and a twelve month high of $34.97. The firm has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.84, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.11.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $403.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $370.26 million. SLM had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 15.46%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. SLM has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.100 EPS. Analysts predict that SLM will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 4th. SLM’s payout ratio is currently 26.13%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kerri A. Palmer sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.21, for a total transaction of $1,771,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 119,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,841,139.13. This represents a 31.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in SLM by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 96,570 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,167,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in SLM by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 36,509 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in SLM by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 24,657 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $724,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management increased its holdings in SLM by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 16,780 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 7,800 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.