Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

Nelnet Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:NNI opened at $118.72 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.05 and a beta of 0.91. Nelnet has a 1-year low of $87.02 and a 1-year high of $127.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 31.47 and a current ratio of 31.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $110.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.00.

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The credit services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $401.61 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $335.00 million. Nelnet had a net margin of 5.54% and a return on equity of 3.78%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Nelnet will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nelnet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Nelnet’s payout ratio is 22.40%.

Institutional Trading of Nelnet

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new stake in Nelnet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nelnet by 1,293.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Nelnet by 796.0% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 448 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Nelnet by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 556 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of Nelnet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $202,000. 33.51% of the stock is currently 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.