Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 92,223 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 13% from the previous session’s volume of 105,478 shares.The stock last traded at $129.77 and had previously closed at $128.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Nelnet Trading Down 1.2%

The firm has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a PE ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.56. The company has a current ratio of 28.27, a quick ratio of 28.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18.

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The credit services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Nelnet had a net margin of 18.99% and a return on equity of 12.43%. The firm had revenue of $390.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $382.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Nelnet, Inc. will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nelnet Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nelnet

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NNI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Nelnet by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 185,029 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $23,199,000 after buying an additional 12,941 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in Nelnet during the third quarter worth $1,086,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in Nelnet during the third quarter valued at $1,505,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Nelnet by 28.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 184,316 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $23,110,000 after purchasing an additional 41,302 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Nelnet by 50,400.0% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,010 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.