Wedbush Issues Pessimistic Estimate for SLM Earnings

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) – Stock analysts at Wedbush decreased their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for shares of SLM in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now forecasts that the credit services provider will earn $1.09 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.25. Wedbush has a “Outperform” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for SLM’s current full-year earnings is $2.85 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for SLM’s Q3 2025 earnings at $0.68 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $0.74 EPS.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $652.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.40 million. SLM had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 41.84%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.11 EPS.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on SLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays cut their target price on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.67.

SLM Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of SLM opened at $21.90 on Friday. SLM has a 52-week low of $12.26 and a 52-week high of $23.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.50. The company has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a PE ratio of 6.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.15.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the 3rd quarter valued at about $201,000. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. acquired a new position in SLM in the third quarter valued at approximately $211,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in SLM by 7.2% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 25,617 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 1,710 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in SLM by 194.7% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,273 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $761,000 after purchasing an additional 21,984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SLM during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $240,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total value of $102,150.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 101,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,294,811.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

SLM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. This is a boost from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. SLM’s payout ratio is 13.75%.

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.