Q1 Earnings Estimate for SLM Issued By Wedbush (NASDAQ:SLM)

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) – Stock analysts at Wedbush boosted their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for shares of SLM in a research report issued on Monday, November 25th. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now expects that the credit services provider will post earnings of $1.19 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.09. Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for SLM’s current full-year earnings is $2.73 per share.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on SLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.45.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of SLM stock opened at $27.42 on Wednesday. SLM has a 12-month low of $14.03 and a 12-month high of $28.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $23.02 and a 200-day moving average of $21.85.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.30). SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. The business had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.11 EPS.

SLM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. This is an increase from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in SLM by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,077 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its stake in SLM by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,708 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in SLM by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,017 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in SLM by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,368 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently 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.