Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI) Raises Dividend to $0.30 Per Share

Key Points

• Nelnet, Inc. has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.30 per share, marking a 7.1% rise from the previous dividend of $0.28.
• The company's payout ratio is 13.2%, suggesting that the dividend is well-covered by earnings, with expected earnings of $5.90 per share next year.
• Nelnet's recent earnings report showed $5.05 EPS, significantly exceeding analyst expectations, and the company approved a plan to repurchase 5 million shares of its stock.

Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, August 7th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.30 per share by the credit services provider on Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a 7.1% increase from Nelnet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28.

Nelnet has a payout ratio of 13.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Nelnet to earn $5.90 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.12 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 19.0%.

Nelnet Stock Performance

Shares of NNI traded down $0.80 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $125.01. The stock had a trading volume of 94,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 65,191. The firm has a market cap of $4.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.63 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.20. Nelnet has a one year low of $98.15 and a one year high of $130.41. The company has a current ratio of 34.08, a quick ratio of 34.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57.

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $540.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $376.40 million. Nelnet had a return on equity of 6.00% and a net margin of 9.44%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nelnet will post 4.52 EPS for the current year.

Nelnet announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 8th that allows the company to buyback 5,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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