Mackenzie Financial Corp Acquires New Shares in Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI)

Key Points

• Mackenzie Financial Corp has acquired a new stake in Nelnet, Inc., purchasing 2,744 shares valued at approximately $304,000.
• Nelnet's stock received a rating upgrade from "hold" to "strong-buy" by Wall Street Zen, indicating improved analyst confidence in the stock.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, representing a positive change from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.28.

Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position 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 & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,744 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $304,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NNI. Sycale Advisors NY LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nelnet by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Sycale Advisors NY LLC now owns 258,038 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $27,561,000 after purchasing an additional 54,380 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Nelnet by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 172,480 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $18,423,000 after acquiring an additional 40,476 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Nelnet by 13,657.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 34,943 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,876,000 after acquiring an additional 34,689 shares during the last quarter. Western Standard LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nelnet during the fourth quarter worth about $2,614,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Nelnet by 1.5% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,204,798 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $133,648,000 after acquiring an additional 17,271 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.51% of the company's stock.

Nelnet Stock Up 1.0%

Nelnet stock traded up $1.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $128.18. The stock had a trading volume of 16,507 shares, compared to its average volume of 65,548. 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 $4.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.26 and a beta of 0.90. Nelnet, Inc. has a 12 month low of $98.15 and a 12 month high of $130.41. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $120.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.63.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $3.14. The company had revenue of $540.61 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $376.40 million. Nelnet had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 14.86%. Research analysts predict that Nelnet, Inc. will post 4.52 EPS for the current year.

Nelnet announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 8th that permits the company to buyback 5,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership 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 paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is an increase from Nelnet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Nelnet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.