Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded Nelnet from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.00.

Nelnet Price Performance

NNI opened at $132.37 on Wednesday. Nelnet has a 52-week low of $116.62 and a 52-week high of $144.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $130.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $132.05. The company has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 24.07, a current ratio of 24.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14.

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.66 by ($0.72). The business had revenue of $419.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $443.84 million. Nelnet had a net margin of 18.45% and a return on equity of 11.73%. On average, analysts expect that Nelnet will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nelnet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in Nelnet in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Nelnet during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Nelnet by 170.3% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 373 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Nelnet in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.51% of the company’s stock.

Nelnet Company Profile

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.