Research Analysts Set Expectations for SLM Co.’s Q2 2025 Earnings (NASDAQ:SLM)

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) – Investment analysts at Wedbush issued their Q2 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of SLM in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, March 27th. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini expects that the credit services provider will post earnings per share of $0.49 for the quarter. Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for SLM’s current full-year earnings is $2.66 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for SLM’s Q3 2025 earnings at $0.57 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $0.55 EPS.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.15). SLM had a return on equity of 36.86% and a net margin of 20.65%. The business had revenue of $725.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $379.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.33) earnings per share.

SLM has been the topic of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on SLM from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of SLM from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, December 8th. Citigroup raised shares of SLM from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.77.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM opened at $21.60 on Thursday. SLM has a 12 month low of $11.35 and a 12 month high of $21.74. The company has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $20.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SLM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in SLM by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,136,784 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $633,575,000 after buying an additional 1,151,557 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of SLM by 0.4% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 21,483,681 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $350,614,000 after purchasing an additional 75,771 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in SLM by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 11,786,932 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $225,574,000 after acquiring an additional 1,969,885 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in SLM by 17.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,605,432 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $81,839,000 after acquiring an additional 988,172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its position in SLM by 53.0% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,530,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $83,171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,570,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at SLM

In other news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 52,751 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,000.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total transaction of $249,483.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,564,155. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 52,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,093,000.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is owned by insiders.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. SLM’s payout ratio is 18.33%.

SLM declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.