American Century Companies Inc. Buys 3,754 Shares of Nelnet, Inc. $NNI

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Nelnet, Inc. by 3.2% during the first quarter, owning 121,232 shares worth approximately $13.4 million.
• Analysts have upgraded Nelnet from a "hold" to a "strong-buy" rating, reflecting positive sentiment towards the company's financial performance.
• Nelnet recently announced a dividend increase from $0.28 to $0.30 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.9% and a payout ratio of 12.40%.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI - Free Report) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 121,232 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,754 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.33% of Nelnet worth $13,448,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Nelnet by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,510 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $909,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Nelnet by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,395 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,217,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV bought a new position in Nelnet in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Nelnet by 576.5% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position 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. 33.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Nelnet

In other news, major shareholder Shelby J. Butterfield sold 41,929 shares of Nelnet stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.25, for a total transaction of $5,000,033.25. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 510 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,817.50. This trade represents a 98.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 50.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Nelnet Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE NNI traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $128.45. 70,175 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 72,890. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.17. The company has a market capitalization of $4.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22 and a beta of 0.87. Nelnet, Inc. has a 12 month low of $98.15 and a 12 month high of $131.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 29.42 and a quick ratio of 29.41.

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The credit services provider reported $5.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 14.86% and a return on equity of 10.09%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Nelnet, Inc. will post 4.52 EPS for the current year.

Nelnet Increases Dividend

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

Nelnet declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program 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 programs are usually 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.