Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Nelnet Price Performance

Nelnet stock opened at $110.84 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.46 and a beta of 0.91. Nelnet has a 12-month low of $83.75 and a 12-month high of $127.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.78, a current ratio of 31.47 and a quick ratio of 31.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $107.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.14.

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The credit services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by ($1.02). The firm had revenue of $477.80 million for the quarter. Nelnet had a return on equity of 3.78% and a net margin of 5.54%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Nelnet will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Nelnet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. Nelnet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider William J. Munn sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.89, for a total transaction of $272,225.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,354 shares in the company, valued at $1,018,557.06. This represents a 21.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 50.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nelnet

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NNI. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nelnet in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,660,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nelnet in the 3rd quarter worth $2,613,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Nelnet by 127.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 28,996 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,285,000 after acquiring an additional 16,245 shares during the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC purchased a new stake in Nelnet during the third quarter valued at about $865,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Nelnet during the third quarter worth about $851,000. 33.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Nelnet

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.