Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) Hits New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Nelnet's stock reached a new 52-week high at $136.17 during trading, closing at $127.24 with a volume of 18,272 shares traded.
• Wall Street analysts have upgraded Nelnet from a "hold" to a "strong-buy" rating, indicating higher confidence in the company's performance.
• Nelnet reported a strong quarterly earnings result, with an EPS of $5.05, significantly surpassing the analysts' expectation of $1.91.

Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $136.17 and last traded at $127.24, with a volume of 18272 shares. The stock had previously closed at $128.81.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Nelnet Stock Performance

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $125.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.05. 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 capitalization of $4.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.65 and a beta of 0.87.

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The credit services provider reported $5.05 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $540.61 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $376.40 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Nelnet, Inc. will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nelnet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 an increase from Nelnet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Nelnet's dividend payout ratio is 13.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nelnet

In other news, Director Thomas Edward Henning sold 3,102 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.87, for a total transaction of $399,754.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Shelby J. Butterfield sold 41,929 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the insider owned 510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,817.50. This trade represents a 98.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,125 shares of company stock worth $6,056,252. Corporate insiders own 50.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Nelnet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Nelnet by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,353 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Nelnet by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 772 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in Nelnet by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 3,236 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Nelnet by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,825 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Nelnet by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 12,992 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,574,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.51% of the company's stock.

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.