Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) Sees Large Volume Increase - What's Next?

Key Points

• Nelnet traded about 74,567 shares mid-day (a 41% decline from the prior session) and last traded around $134.90, roughly up 0.3%.
• The firm reported quarterly EPS of $1.56, missing estimates of $1.63 while revenue of $392.76M topped expectations; analysts' consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $140.
• Nelnet has a market cap of $4.87B and a PE of 11.54, pays a $0.33 quarterly dividend (annual $1.32, ~1.0% yield), and about 33.5% of its stock is held by institutional investors.

Shares of Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 74,567 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the previous session's volume of 127,024 shares.The stock last traded at $134.8950 and had previously closed at $135.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NNI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Nelnet in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research raised Nelnet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nelnet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.00.

Nelnet Trading Up 0.3%

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 28.27, a quick ratio of 28.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $130.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $131.10.

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The credit services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $392.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $382.00 million. Nelnet had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 18.99%. Sell-side analysts expect that Nelnet, Inc. will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Nelnet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. Nelnet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nelnet

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nelnet by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,546,041 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $193,843,000 after buying an additional 4,819 shares during the last quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc lifted its position in Nelnet by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 212,618 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $28,270,000 after purchasing an additional 6,620 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its position in Nelnet by 66.4% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 191,826 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $24,051,000 after purchasing an additional 76,534 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Nelnet by 7.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 185,029 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $23,199,000 after purchasing an additional 12,941 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Nelnet by 28.9% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 184,316 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $23,110,000 after purchasing an additional 41,302 shares in the last quarter. 33.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nelnet Company Profile

Nelnet, Inc NYSE: NNI is a diversified education services company founded in 1978 and headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska. Originally established as the National Education Loan Network by Michael S. Dunlap, the company has grown into a prominent provider of student loan servicing and education finance solutions in the United States.

At the core of Nelnet's business is student loan servicing, where it administers and manages federal and private education loans on behalf of borrowers and lending partners.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.