Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI) Short Interest Update

Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 233,790 shares, a decline of 32.1% from the December 15th total of 344,320 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 144,976 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 144,976 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Nelnet Price Performance

Shares of NNI stock traded down $3.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $132.68. 89,061 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 118,588. Nelnet has a fifty-two week low of $98.15 and a fifty-two week high of $142.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 28.98 and a quick ratio of 28.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $132.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.59. The company has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 0.83.

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $1.43. Nelnet had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The firm had revenue of $427.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $372.00 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Nelnet will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nelnet Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Nelnet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Nelnet’s payout ratio is currently 11.09%.

Insider Transactions at Nelnet

In other news, Director Deun Jona M. Van sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.95, for a total value of $51,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,780.80. This represents a 36.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 50.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nelnet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in Nelnet by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 8,742 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,162,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Nelnet in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,594,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Nelnet by 19.3% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew 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 worth $23,199,000 after buying an additional 12,941 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its stake in shares of Nelnet by 41.5% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 14,567 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,826,000 after buying an additional 4,269 shares during the last quarter. 33.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Nelnet from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nelnet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Nelnet in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Nelnet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Nelnet in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.00.

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.