Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nelnet (NYSE:NNI - Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Saturday.
Nelnet Trading Up 0.5%
Shares of NYSE:NNI traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $123.42. The stock had a trading volume of 114,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 65,684. The company's 50 day moving average is $119.94 and its 200-day moving average is $114.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 29.41 and a current ratio of 29.42. Nelnet has a 12-month low of $98.15 and a 12-month high of $130.41. The company has a market cap of $4.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.67 and a beta of 0.90.
Nelnet (NYSE:NNI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The credit services provider reported $5.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $3.14. The firm had revenue of $540.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $376.40 million. Nelnet had a net margin of 14.86% and a return on equity of 10.09%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nelnet will post 4.52 EPS for the current year.
Nelnet announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 8th that allows the company to buyback 5,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Nelnet Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from Nelnet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Nelnet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.29%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nelnet
Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in shares of Nelnet by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 20,347 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,257,000 after acquiring an additional 2,728 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Nelnet during the 4th quarter worth about $417,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Nelnet by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,530 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $613,000 after buying an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Nelnet by 292.1% in the 1st 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. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in Nelnet by 84.7% in the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 8,553 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $949,000 after acquiring an additional 3,921 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 33.51% of the company's stock.
About Nelnet
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Featured Articles
Before you consider Nelnet, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Nelnet wasn't on the list.
While Nelnet currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Wondering where to start (or end) with AI stocks? These 10 simple stocks can help investors build long-term wealth as artificial intelligence continues to grow into the future.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.