SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Updates FY24 Earnings Guidance

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

SLM Stock Up 0.8 %

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

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that SLM will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders 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 announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to buyback $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on SLM from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a buy rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Citigroup upgraded shares of SLM from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the company from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research report 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $20.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,751 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,000.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other SLM news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total value of $1,949,296.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 52,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,093,000.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was 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. 0.91% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.