Fact based stock research
SLM (NasdaqGS:SLM)

US78442P1066

How to read the free ranks

For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".

Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".

Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.

Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.

(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).

(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.

SLM stock research in summary

salliemae.com

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 63 (better than 63% compared with investment alternatives), SLM (Consumer Finance, USA) shares have above-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of SLM are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 77 (better than 77% of alternatives) but show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 47), and are riskily financed (Safety Rank of 39), which means above-average debt burdens. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 63, is a buy recommendation based on SLM's financial characteristics. As the company SLM's key financial metrics exhibit good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 77) but low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 47) and risky financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 39), it may be a risky investment, because debt in times of crises can make things worse. The good value, better than 77% of comparable companies, may indicate the company's future is challenging. If you believe that low growth is temporary or just due to a specific current event, you may conclude that the good value of the stock provides an attractive investment opportunity. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more

Latest Obermatt Ranks


360° View^new
Sentiment Rank^new
Value Rank	77
Growth Rank	47
Safety Rank	39
Combined Rank	63

Country	USA
Industry	Consumer Finance
Index	NASDAQ, S&P MIDCAP
Size class	XX-Large

14-Nov-2024. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.

Further information

Multiple opinions. One number.

Analysts rarely agree on a stock’s future. So, who do you believe? Obermatt translates those collective views into a single Sentiment Rank. That plus the financial ranks give you the ultimate 360° View. Sign up to access them.

Why popular stocks have low ratings

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Review the performance ranks of the individual metrics that form each investment strategy.

Research History: SLM

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	44	63	70	77
GROWTH
GROWTH	42	39	19	47
SAFETY
SAFETY	79	31	31	39
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT	n/a	17	63	^new
360° VIEW
360° VIEW	n/a	25	43	^new

Most recent update of the stock research: 14-Nov-2024. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 30-Jun-2024. Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better SLM is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	44	63	70	77
GROWTH
GROWTH	42	39	19	47
SAFETY
SAFETY	79	31	31	39
COMBINED
COMBINED	91	30	24	63

Last update of combined financial performance: 14-Nov-2024. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of SLM the better the performance.

Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 77 (better than 77% compared with alternatives) for 2024, SLM shares are significantly less expensive than comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for SLM. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) is 93 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 93% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning SLM's profit levels. The same is valid for Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 49, which means that the stock price is lower as regards to invested capital than for 49% of comparable investments. On the other hand, Price-to-Sales is less favorable than 56% of alternatives (only 44% of peers have an even less favorable ratio). The same is valid for dividend yield, which is lower than 28% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive as regards to the company's expected dividend payouts. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 77, is a buy recommendation based on SLM's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. This is a puzzling picture, because it means that profits are high while dividends are low. Since the stock price is low compared with invested capital but high in respect to expected revenues, it means that the company has more invested capital than peers for generating the same amount of revenue. Since profits are higher, it could be a "cash cow" situation (using the classic Boston Consulting BCG matrix naming convention) where the company is on a downward trend, still living from the profits of past products. As the company pays low dividends, it may harbor the opinion that a turnaround is possible, and it rather invests the cash than pay it out to shareholders, thus sealing the company's fate early. Any investment optimism should only be a buy trigger once thorough research is completed. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision, which is especially important in this case, as the financial indicators are inconclusive. ...read more

VALUE METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)	38	34	45	44
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	97	85	88	93
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	27	28	35	49
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	45	67	65	72
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	44	63	70	77

Last update of Value Rank: 14-Nov-2024. Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of SLM; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.

Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 47 (better than 47% compared with alternatives), SLM shows a below-average growth dynamic in its industry. There is limited momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all but one indicator above average for SLM. Sales Growth has a rank of 57 which means that currently, professionals expect the company to grow more than 57% of its competitors. Capital Growth is also above 35% of competitors with a rank of 59, and Stock Returns with the rank of 53 is also an outperformance. Only Profit Growth is low with a rank of 35 which means that currently, professionals expect the company to grow its profits less than 65% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 47, is a hold recommendation for growth and momentum investors. All three operating growth indicators, namely revenue, profit, and capital growth, are showing improvements. This is a good indication of a company with a positive future. That might, at the same time, be the simple reason why profit growth is low. A growing company needs money and thus can't yet show high profit growth. Look out for signs in corporate communication about extra growth efforts costing time and money. If that is the case, SLM is a good growth stock. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH	25	23	19	57
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	n/a	59	77	35
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	n/a	7	17	59
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	81	85	33	53
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	42	39	19	47

Last update of Growth Rank: 14-Nov-2024. Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of SLM.

Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 39 (better than 39% compared with alternatives), the company SLM has financing practices on the riskier side, which means that their overall debt burden is above the industry average. This doesn't mean that the business of SLM is also risky, it only means that the company is on the riskier side in respect to bankruptcy in case things turn sour, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with just one indicator above average for SLM and the other two below average. Leverage is at a rank of 53 meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 53% of its competitors.Refinancing is at a rank of 37, which means that the portion of the debt about to be refinanced is above-average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 63% of its competitors. Liquidity is at a rank of 36, meaning that the company generates less profit to service its debt than 64% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 39 (worse than 61% compared with alternatives), SLM has a financing structure that is riskier than that of its competitors. This is an indication that the company is on the riskier side when it comes to debt service. There is only below-market average liquidity, and a short-term refinancing issue might be around the corner. But in the long-term, the debt levels of SLM are on the safer side. Investors may have a short-term debt challenge and liquidity issues with SLM and should also compare Obermatt’s Value, Growth, and Sentiment Ranks before making a decision. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE	54	44	50	53
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	95	31	33	37
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	78	37	28	36
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY	79	31	31	39

Last update of Safety Rank: 14-Nov-2024. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of SLM and the more cash is available to service its debt.

Sentiment Metrics in Detail

SENTIMENT	2021	2022	2023	2024
ANALYST OPINIONS
ANALYST OPINIONS	n/a	90	87	^new
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE	n/a	13	25	^new
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS	n/a	9	86	^new
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE	n/a	22	22	^new
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT	n/a	17	63	^new

Last update of Sentiment Rank: 14-Nov-2024. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for SLM.
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