Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

Shares of Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI) saw strong trading volume on Monday . 105,015 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the previous session’s volume of 127,752 shares.The stock last traded at $129.6640 and had previously closed at $129.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research raised Nelnet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Nelnet in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.00.

Nelnet Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $130.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.86. The stock has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.11 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 28.27, a current ratio of 28.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18.

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The credit services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $392.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $382.00 million. Nelnet had a net margin of 18.99% and a return on equity of 12.43%. On average, analysts forecast that Nelnet, Inc. will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nelnet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. Nelnet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.21%.

Institutional Trading of Nelnet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Nelnet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Nelnet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its stake in Nelnet by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 23,209 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,086,000 after purchasing an additional 8,642 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC raised its stake in Nelnet by 415.0% during the 4th quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 14,375 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,911,000 after purchasing an additional 11,584 shares during the period. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in Nelnet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $358,000. Institutional investors own 33.51% of the company’s stock.

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.