Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 12,187 Shares of Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI - Free Report) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,076,549 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,187 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 5.56% of Nelnet worth $183,194,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NNI. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Nelnet by 176.5% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 412 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in Nelnet in the 3rd quarter worth about $238,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Nelnet by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,013 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Nelnet by 46.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,092 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Nelnet by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,470 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.51% of the company's stock.

Nelnet Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NNI traded down $1.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $109.54. 47,657 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 90,588. Nelnet, Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.67 and a 12 month high of $110.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.25, a current ratio of 48.33 and a quick ratio of 35.15. The stock has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.90 and a beta of 0.84. The stock's 50-day moving average is $94.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.42.

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The credit services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $579.96 million during the quarter. Nelnet had a net margin of 6.54% and a return on equity of 4.17%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Nelnet, Inc. will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nelnet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Nelnet's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Nelnet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Nelnet from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday.

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.