SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from Morgan Stanley

26 Oct 2026, 02:42 by Renee Jackson · The Cerbat Gem

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM – Free Report) had its target price lowered by Morgan Stanley from $30.00 to $26.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on SLM from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of SLM from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of SLM from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.44.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on SLM

SLM Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SLM opened at $19.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.23. SLM has a 52-week low of $17.77 and a 52-week high of $31.06. The firm has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.04, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s fifty day moving average is $24.46 and its 200 day moving average is $24.01.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The credit services provider reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.36). The company had revenue of $375.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $453.34 million. SLM had a return on equity of 26.34% and a net margin of 20.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 31.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. Research analysts predict that SLM will post 2.00 EPS for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 4th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new position in SLM in the 3rd quarter worth about $237,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of SLM by 9.2% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,336 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 787 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of SLM by 78.7% during the third quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 15,106 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 6,654 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in SLM in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC grew its position in SLM by 44.1% in the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 270,049 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,111,000 after acquiring an additional 82,611 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting SLM this week:

Positive Sentiment: Private education loan originations rose 15% year over year to a record $3.4 billion, while graduate-loan originations increased 119%. SLM also repurchased 5.1 million shares for $132.2 million, supporting per-share value over the longer term. Sallie Mae Reports Third-Quarter Results
Positive Sentiment: Sixth Street committed to purchase approximately $1.5 billion of student loans annually, potentially expanding SLM’s funding and loan-origination capacity. SLM: Three Key Takeaways
Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley, RBC, and TD Cowen lowered their price targets to $26, $26, and $27, respectively, but retained positive ratings ranging from overweight to buy. The revisions indicate reduced near-term expectations while implying substantial potential upside from recent levels.
Negative Sentiment: SLM reported a $35.9 million net loss attributable to common stock, or $0.19 per share, compared with $0.63 of earnings a year earlier. Revenue fell 31.3% year over year to approximately $375.5 million, below the $453.3 million consensus estimate. SLM Quarterly Earnings Results
Negative Sentiment: Management cut 2026 diluted EPS guidance to $1.95–$2.05 from $3.10–$3.20 and raised expected full-year net charge-offs to $400–$420 million. Third-quarter charge-offs reached about $90 million, reflecting increased defaults tied partly to third-party debt-resolution practices.
Negative Sentiment: Credit-loss provisions totaled $213.7 million and non-interest expenses rose to roughly $220.7 million as SLM spent more to capture seasonal loan demand. These higher costs overwhelmed the strong origination growth and are the primary reasons investors have sold the stock. Sallie Mae Cuts Full-Year View

About SLM

(Get Free Report)

SLM Corp., commonly known as Sallie Mae, is a financial services company focused on helping students and families finance higher education. Its primary business is the origination and servicing of private education loans, which can help cover tuition, fees, books, housing and other eligible education-related expenses not fully covered by federal student aid.