Wedbush Has Pessimistic Outlook of SLM FY2024 Earnings

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) – Analysts at Wedbush lowered their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for SLM in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, November 5th. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now expects that the credit services provider will earn $2.60 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $2.76. Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for SLM’s current full-year earnings is $2.75 per share.

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

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America initiated coverage on SLM in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.45.

SLM Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM opened at $23.71 on Wednesday. SLM has a 52-week low of $13.93 and a 52-week high of $24.59. The stock has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s 50 day moving average is $22.15 and its 200 day moving average is $21.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of SLM by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,461,356 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $271,626,000 after acquiring an additional 674,424 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in SLM by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,687,920 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $118,248,000 after buying an additional 119,342 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in SLM by 23.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,453,521 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $92,589,000 after buying an additional 859,625 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in SLM by 3,800.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,406,384 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $55,034,000 after buying an additional 2,344,691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in SLM by 107.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,366,642 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $49,202,000 after buying an additional 1,224,015 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

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 issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This is a positive change from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.33%.

About SLM

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.