Nelnet, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.33 (NYSE:NNI)

Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of 0.33 per share by the credit services provider on Friday, March 13th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th.

Nelnet has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years. Nelnet has a payout ratio of 15.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Nelnet to earn $5.90 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.4%.

Nelnet Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE NNI traded down $0.40 during trading on Friday, reaching $130.39. 19,339 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 105,445. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $133.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $129.10. The stock has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.96 and a beta of 0.83. Nelnet has a 1 year low of $98.15 and a 1 year high of $142.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 28.98 and a current ratio of 28.98.

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $1.43. The business had revenue of $427.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $372.00 million. Nelnet had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 18.96%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Nelnet will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Nelnet in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Nelnet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Nelnet in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Nelnet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nelnet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.00.

Nelnet Company Profile

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.