Zacks Research Downgrades Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) to Hold

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Nelnet in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Nelnet from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nelnet currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $140.00.

Nelnet Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NNI opened at $140.87 on Monday. Nelnet has a twelve month low of $105.12 and a twelve month high of $144.38. The firm has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 28.27 and a current ratio of 28.27. The business has a fifty day moving average of $132.81 and a 200-day moving average of $132.17.

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The credit services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Nelnet had a net margin of 18.99% and a return on equity of 12.43%. The business had revenue of $392.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $382.00 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Nelnet will post 9.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Nelnet

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

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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