Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $132.04 and traded as high as $132.09. Nelnet shares last traded at $130.2160, with a volume of 125,499 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on NNI shares. Zacks Research downgraded Nelnet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Nelnet from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nelnet currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.00.

Nelnet Trading Up 1.3%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $132.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 24.07 and a current ratio of 24.07. The firm has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.34 and a beta of 0.79.

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.66 by ($0.72). Nelnet had a return on equity of 11.73% and a net margin of 18.45%.The company had revenue of $419.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $443.84 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Nelnet, Inc. will post 8.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nelnet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Nelnet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in Nelnet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Nelnet in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Nelnet by 170.3% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 373 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Nelnet by 189.8% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 368 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Nelnet by 51.4% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 445 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. 33.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.