Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Invests $450,000 in Nelnet, Inc. $NNI

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired 4,057 shares of Nelnet, Inc., valued at approximately $450,000, during the first quarter of the year.
• Nelnet recently declared a quarterly dividend increase from $0.28 to $0.30 per share, reflecting a 0.9% annual yield.
• The company reported earnings of $5.05 per share for the last quarter, significantly exceeding analysts’ expectations of $1.91.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,057 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $450,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV bought a new stake in shares of Nelnet during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Nelnet by 796.0% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 448 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nelnet by 292.1% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 698 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc bought a new position in Nelnet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $202,000. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in Nelnet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $228,000. Institutional investors own 33.51% of the company's stock.

Nelnet Stock Performance

Shares of NNI traded down $1.0240 on Monday, reaching $129.2460. 67,379 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 73,129. The company has a current ratio of 29.42, a quick ratio of 29.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.27. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a PE ratio of 14.31 and a beta of 0.90. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $122.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $115.69. Nelnet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.15 and a 52-week high of $130.71.

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The credit services provider reported $5.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.91 by $3.14. The company had revenue of $540.61 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $376.40 million. Nelnet had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 14.86%. On average, analysts forecast that Nelnet, Inc. will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nelnet declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase 5,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Nelnet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from Nelnet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Nelnet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised Nelnet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th.

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.