HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 31,243 Shares of Nelnet, Inc. $NNI

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Nelnet, Inc. by 40.6% in Q1, holding 45,653 shares valued at approximately $5 million.
• Nelnet recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, an increase from the previous $0.28, with a payout ratio of 12.40%.
• Wall Street analysts upgraded Nelnet from a "hold" to a "strong-buy" rating, indicating positive sentiment for the company's stock.

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI - Free Report) by 40.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 45,653 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 31,243 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Nelnet worth $5,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NNI. KBC Group NV acquired a new position in Nelnet in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Nelnet by 796.0% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 448 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Nelnet by 292.1% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 698 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc acquired a new position in Nelnet in the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Nelnet in the 4th quarter valued at about $228,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Nelnet Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NNI traded down $1.0240 on Monday, reaching $129.2460. 67,379 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 73,129. The company has a fifty day moving average of $122.68 and a 200-day moving average of $115.69. Nelnet, Inc. has a twelve month low of $98.15 and a twelve month high of $130.71. The company has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.31 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 29.42, a quick ratio of 29.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.27.

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

Nelnet declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 8th that allows the company to buyback 5,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Nelnet Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a boost from Nelnet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Nelnet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.40%.

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.