SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Issues 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.

SLM Price Performance

NASDAQ SLM traded down $0.03 on Friday, reaching $21.90. 1,857,590 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,217,371. SLM has a 12 month low of $12.26 and a 12 month high of $22.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.23. The stock has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a PE ratio of 6.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.16.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.18. SLM had a net margin of 25.15% and a return on equity of 45.65%. The business had revenue of $837.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $376.43 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that SLM will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is 13.75%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. TheStreet upgraded shares of SLM from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wedbush raised their price target on SLM from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on SLM from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on SLM in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a buy rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $21.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other SLM news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the business’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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $1,093,000.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total value of $249,483.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,564,155. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

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.