SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.30 EPS

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.30), Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $0.11 EPS. SLM updated its FY 2024 guidance to 2.700-2.800 EPS.

SLM Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SLM opened at $21.90 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.84, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.15. SLM has a 1 year low of $12.26 and a 1 year high of $23.95. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

SLM Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. 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. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total value of $102,150.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 101,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,294,811.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SLM shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.67.

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.