Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) Stock Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Nelnet shares rose above their 200-day moving average in Monday trading, briefly reaching $135.68 before last trading at $133.90. The move came with volume of 86,441 shares.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with Weiss Ratings upgrading the stock to buy while Zacks cut it to strong sell. Overall, MarketBeat shows an average rating of Hold and a target price of $140.00.
• Recent earnings missed expectations, as Nelnet reported $1.94 EPS versus the $2.66 consensus and revenue of $419.06 million versus $443.84 million expected. The company also paid a $0.33 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 1.0% annualized yield.

Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $131.88 and traded as high as $135.68. Nelnet shares last traded at $133.90, with a volume of 86,441 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NNI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Nelnet from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research cut shares of Nelnet from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nelnet presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $140.00.

Nelnet Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 24.07 and a quick ratio of 24.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $130.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $131.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a PE ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 0.78.

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.66 by ($0.72). The business had revenue of $419.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $443.84 million. Nelnet had a return on equity of 11.73% and a net margin of 18.45%. Research analysts expect that Nelnet, Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

Nelnet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Nelnet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Nelnet by 66.4% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 191,826 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $24,051,000 after acquiring an additional 76,534 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Nelnet by 66.4% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 96,840 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $11,729,000 after acquiring an additional 38,628 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Nelnet by 421.7% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 46,474 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,629,000 after acquiring an additional 37,566 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in Nelnet by 115.1% during the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,711 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $9,269,000 after acquiring an additional 37,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Nelnet by 952.7% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 27,992 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,510,000 after purchasing an additional 25,333 shares during the period. 33.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Nelnet

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.

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