Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) Sets New 12-Month High After Strong Earnings

Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $136.68 and last traded at $134.2790, with a volume of 50809 shares. The stock had previously closed at $129.80.

The credit services provider reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $1.43. Nelnet had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 14.86%.The business had revenue of $427.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $372.00 million.

Nelnet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is a boost from Nelnet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Nelnet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NNI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nelnet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Nelnet in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Nelnet currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Shelby J. Butterfield sold 41,929 shares of Nelnet stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.25, for a total value of $5,000,033.25. Following the transaction, the insider owned 510 shares in the company, valued at $60,817.50. This trade represents a 98.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Edward Henning sold 5,094 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.87, for a total transaction of $656,463.78. Following the sale, the director owned 11,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,425,044.46. The trade was a 31.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 50,125 shares of company stock worth $6,056,252 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 50.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NNI. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its holdings in Nelnet by 45.6% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 36,113 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,006,000 after purchasing an additional 11,316 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of Nelnet by 84.7% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 8,553 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $949,000 after buying an additional 3,921 shares during the period. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nelnet by 4.9% during the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 46,343 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,141,000 after buying an additional 2,183 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nelnet by 8.5% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 29,122 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,230,000 after acquiring an additional 2,278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Nelnet in the first quarter worth $304,000. Institutional investors own 33.51% of the company’s stock.

Nelnet Trading Up 3.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 29.41, a current ratio of 29.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $128.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.78. The firm has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.83 and a beta of 0.85.

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.