SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) Short Interest Update

SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 17,286,082 shares, an increase of 36.0% from the January 29th total of 12,710,595 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,030,006 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.7 days. Currently, 8.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Currently, 8.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,030,006 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.7 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SLM. Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in SLM by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 96,570 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,167,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,649 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its stake in shares of SLM by 11.4% in the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 8,315 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 853 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in SLM by 6.6% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,350 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in SLM by 6.1% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 36,889 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,210,000 after purchasing an additional 2,109 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Stock Down 0.5%

SLM stock opened at $19.09 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $25.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.33. SLM has a 12 month low of $17.77 and a 12 month high of $34.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.18.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.17. SLM had a net margin of 26.04% and a return on equity of 34.79%. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $383.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700-2.800 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that SLM will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings cut SLM from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of SLM in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Zacks Research raised SLM from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, SLM currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.60.

SLM Company Profile

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.