Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $135.00 to $140.00. TD Cowen currently has a hold rating on the stock. Nelnet traded as high as $141.41 and last traded at $140.8250, with a volume of 64511 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $135.10.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on NNI. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Nelnet in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Nelnet in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Nelnet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Nelnet has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.00.

Insider Transactions at Nelnet

In related news, Director Deun Jona M. Van sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.95, for a total value of $51,580.00. Following the sale, the director owned 704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,780.80. The trade was a 36.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 50.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Nelnet by 29.7% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 172,088 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,843,000 after purchasing an additional 39,417 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in shares of Nelnet during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,086,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Nelnet during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Nelnet by 18.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 143,014 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,322,000 after buying an additional 21,782 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Nelnet by 58,600.0% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 1,172 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.51% of the company’s stock.

Nelnet Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $131.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $127.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 28.98 and a quick ratio of 28.98. The company has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 0.83.

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $1.43. Nelnet had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 18.96%.The firm had revenue of $427.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $372.00 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nelnet, Inc. will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nelnet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a $0.33 dividend. This is an increase from Nelnet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Nelnet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.09%.

About Nelnet

Nelnet, Inc (NYSE: NNI) is a diversified education services company founded in 1978 and headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska. Originally established as the National Education Loan Network by Michael S. Dunlap, the company has grown into a prominent provider of student loan servicing and education finance solutions in the United States.

At the core of Nelnet’s business is student loan servicing, where it administers and manages federal and private education loans on behalf of borrowers and lending partners.