StockNews.com Upgrades Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

Nelnet Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Nelnet stock opened at $110.84 on Friday. Nelnet has a twelve month low of $83.75 and a twelve month high of $127.32. The stock has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.46 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 31.47, a quick ratio of 31.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.78. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $107.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.14.

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The credit services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.36 by ($1.02). The company had revenue of $477.80 million during the quarter. Nelnet had a return on equity of 3.78% and a net margin of 5.54%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Nelnet will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nelnet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Nelnet’s payout ratio is currently 36.84%.

Insider Activity

In other Nelnet news, insider William J. Munn sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.89, for a total value of $272,225.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,354 shares in the company, valued at $1,018,557.06. The trade was a 21.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nelnet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Nelnet by 1,293.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new stake in shares of Nelnet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Bar Harbor Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Nelnet by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 109,666 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,713,000 after purchasing an additional 2,577 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Nelnet by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,902 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $630,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nelnet by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 360,493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,846,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572 shares during the last quarter. 33.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nelnet Company Profile

Nelnet, Inc engages in loan servicing, communications, education technology, services, and payment processing businesses worldwide. The Loan Servicing and Systems segment provides loan conversion, application processing, borrower updates, customer service, payment processing, due diligence procedures, funds management reconciliation, and claim processing services.