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 earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 2.600-2.700 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 2.690. The company issued revenue guidance of -. SLM also updated its FY24 guidance to $2.60-$2.70 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on SLM. Citigroup raised shares of SLM from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on SLM in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a buy rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. TheStreet raised SLM from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on SLM from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on SLM from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $20.32.

SLM Price Performance

NASDAQ SLM traded up $0.17 during trading hours 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.21, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.16. SLM has a 52 week low of $12.26 and a 52 week high of $22.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.14.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.29. SLM had a net margin of 20.65% and a return on equity of 36.86%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that SLM will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.33%.

SLM announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to repurchase $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to buy 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 stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at SLM

In other SLM news, 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 value of $1,949,296.16. Following 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other SLM news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of SLM stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,564,155. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the 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 approximately $1,093,000.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.