SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Releases FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 2.600-2.700 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 2.690. The company issued revenue guidance of -. SLM also updated its FY24 guidance to $2.60-$2.70 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on SLM from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on SLM in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a buy rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup raised shares of SLM from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their target price for the company from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of SLM from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $20.32.

SLM Trading Up 0.8 %

SLM stock traded up $0.17 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $22.10. The company had a trading volume of 2,045,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,146,394. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.21, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.14. SLM has a 52-week low of $12.26 and a 52-week high of $22.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.29. SLM had a return on equity of 36.86% and a net margin of 20.65%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that SLM will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 6th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.33%.

SLM declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to buyback $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In related news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of SLM stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total transaction of $1,949,296.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,093,000.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total transaction of $1,949,296.16. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,093,000.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total value of $249,483.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,564,155. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

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.