Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $102.09, but opened at $107.45. Nelnet shares last traded at $106.96, with a volume of 9,600 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nelnet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th.

Nelnet Trading Down 1.0 %

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.24. The company has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.84 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 31.47 and a current ratio of 31.47.

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The credit services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $401.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $335.00 million. Nelnet had a net margin of 5.54% and a return on equity of 3.78%. Sell-side analysts expect that Nelnet, Inc. will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Nelnet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Nelnet's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.40%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. KBC Group NV bought a new stake in Nelnet in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Nelnet by 292.1% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 698 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Nelnet by 14.0% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,530 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $613,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Nelnet by 1.5% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,204,798 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $133,648,000 after purchasing an additional 17,271 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Nelnet by 13,657.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 34,943 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,876,000 after purchasing an additional 34,689 shares in the last quarter. 33.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.