Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.07 EPS

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The credit services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07), FiscalAI reports. Nelnet had a net margin of 18.99% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The company had revenue of $390.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $382.00 million.

Nelnet Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NNI traded down $2.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $129.23. The stock had a trading volume of 187,018 shares, compared to its average volume of 88,996. Nelnet has a 52-week low of $98.15 and a 52-week high of $142.87. The firm has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.98 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s fifty day moving average is $132.81 and its 200 day moving average is $130.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 28.98 and a quick ratio of 28.98.

Nelnet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Nelnet’s payout ratio is presently 11.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on NNI. Wall Street Zen cut Nelnet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Nelnet in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nelnet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nelnet news, Director Deun Jona M. Van sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.95, for a total value of $51,580.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 704 shares in the company, valued at $90,780.80. The trade was a 36.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 50.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nelnet

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NNI. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in Nelnet during the 4th quarter worth $210,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its stake in shares of Nelnet by 59.3% in 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 buying an additional 8,642 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Nelnet by 415.0% during the fourth quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 14,375 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,911,000 after buying an additional 11,584 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new stake in shares of Nelnet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $358,000. Finally, First Manhattan CO. LLC. acquired a new stake in Nelnet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,894,000. 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.