Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Nelnet, Inc. $NNI

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Nelnet, Inc. by 13.9% during the first quarter, owning approximately 4.23% of the company by the end of the reporting period.
• Wall Street analysts have upgraded Nelnet from a "hold" rating to a "strong buy" rating, indicating a positive outlook for the company's future performance.
• Nelnet recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, up from a previous dividend of $0.28, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI - Free Report) by 13.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,535,569 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 187,813 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 4.23% of Nelnet worth $170,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Nelnet by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,510 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $909,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Nelnet by 1.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. KBC Group NV bought a new position in shares of Nelnet in the first quarter worth $32,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nelnet by 796.0% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 448 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nelnet by 292.1% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 698 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.51% of the company's stock.

Nelnet Price Performance

NYSE:NNI traded down $1.0350 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $129.2350. The company had a trading volume of 22,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 65,276. Nelnet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.15 and a 52-week high of $130.71. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $122.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.56. The company has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a PE ratio of 14.31 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 29.41, a current ratio of 29.42 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 the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $376.40 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Nelnet, Inc. will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Nelnet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from Nelnet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Nelnet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.