Nelnet, Inc. $NNI Stock Position Increased by LPL Financial LLC

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Nelnet, Inc. by 8.5%, owning 29,122 shares worth approximately $3.23 million after acquiring an additional 2,278 shares in Q1.
• Nelnet recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.30 per share, representing a yield of 0.9%, with the new dividend set to be paid on September 16th.
• The credit services provider reported strong quarterly earnings with an earnings per share of $5.05, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.91, contributing to a revenue of $540.61 million.

LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI - Free Report) by 8.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,122 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,278 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.08% of Nelnet worth $3,230,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sycale Advisors NY LLC boosted its stake in Nelnet by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. Sycale Advisors NY LLC now owns 258,038 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $27,561,000 after acquiring an additional 54,380 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Nelnet by 13,657.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 34,943 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,876,000 after acquiring an additional 34,689 shares during the last quarter. Western Standard LLC bought a new position in Nelnet during the 4th quarter valued at $2,614,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Nelnet by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,204,798 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $133,648,000 after acquiring an additional 17,271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in Nelnet during the 4th quarter valued at $1,441,000. 33.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 Nelnet stock traded down $0.3250 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $126.3150. The company's stock had a trading volume of 22,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 65,436. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $121.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 29.41 and a current ratio of 29.42. Nelnet, Inc. has a one year low of $98.15 and a one year high of $130.41. The stock has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.99 and a beta of 0.90.

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $540.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $376.40 million. As a group, analysts expect that Nelnet, Inc. will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nelnet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Nelnet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Nelnet's payout ratio is 12.40%.

Nelnet announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 8th that permits the company to repurchase 5,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.