Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) Share Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shares of Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $128.92 and traded as high as $132.00. Nelnet shares last traded at $130.9890, with a volume of 103,833 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on NNI shares. Zacks Research raised Nelnet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Nelnet in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Nelnet in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Nelnet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nelnet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.00.

Nelnet Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.01 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 28.98, a quick ratio of 28.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $132.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.92.

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $1.43. The business had revenue of $427.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $372.00 million. Nelnet had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 18.96%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Nelnet, Inc. will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nelnet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is an increase from Nelnet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Nelnet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Deun Jona M. Van sold 400 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $90,780.80. This represents a 36.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 50.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nelnet

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of NNI. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nelnet by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,575 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $951,000 after buying an additional 1,485 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Nelnet by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,694 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Nelnet by 1,246.0% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,365 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 3,115 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Nelnet by 7.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 58,415 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,480,000 after acquiring an additional 3,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nelnet by 583.3% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 16,023 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,777,000 after acquiring an additional 13,678 shares during the period. 33.51% of the stock is currently 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.