SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Oct 23rd, 2026

SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM – Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday. 2,181,485 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the previous session’s volume of 3,035,412 shares. The stock last traded at $19.6770 and had previously closed at $21.76.

Key Headlines 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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered SLM from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, September 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of SLM from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.67.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on SLM

SLM Trading Down 9.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.33. The company’s 50 day moving average is $24.63 and its 200 day moving average is $24.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.52, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.96.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The credit services provider reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.36). The company had revenue of $375.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $453.34 million. SLM had a return on equity of 33.81% and a net margin of 26.09%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that SLM Corporation will post 3.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.53%.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SLM during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $455,576,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new position in SLM in the second quarter worth $169,136,000. Azora Capital LP bought a new position in SLM in the second quarter worth $97,917,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in SLM in the second quarter worth $39,251,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in SLM during the second quarter worth $37,268,000. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.