SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Stock Crosses Above 50 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) shares crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.25 and traded as high as $23.56. SLM shares last traded at $22.95, with a volume of 3,038,339 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SLM. Zacks Research downgraded shares of SLM from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of SLM from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $28.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $27.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SLM presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.80.

SLM Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.89.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.40. SLM had a net margin of 26.42% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The business had revenue of $559.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $486.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.200 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that SLM Corporation will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 4th. SLM’s payout ratio is 14.40%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in SLM by 33.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 547,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $16,087,000 after purchasing an additional 137,285 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 63.1% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 261,392 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,596,000 after acquiring an additional 101,120 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 616.6% during the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 109,485 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,031,000 after acquiring an additional 94,207 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 31.3% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 53,673 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,452,000 after acquiring an additional 12,793 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the 3rd quarter worth $951,000. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

About SLM

SLM Corporation, operating as Sallie Mae Bank, is a leading U.S.-based consumer banking company specializing in education financing and related banking products. The company provides a range of private student loans for undergraduate and graduate studies, Parent PLUS loans, and specialized financing for career and certificate programs. In addition to its core lending services, Sallie Mae offers deposit products including savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and credit cards tailored to students and young adults.

Founded in 1972 as the Student Loan Marketing Association—a government-sponsored enterprise—Sallie Mae was privatized in 2004 and has since focused on expanding its private education loan offerings and digital banking solutions.