Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Shares of Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $132.04 and traded as high as $132.09. Nelnet shares last traded at $130.2160, with a volume of 125,499 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NNI shares. Zacks Research downgraded Nelnet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Nelnet from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nelnet presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.00.

Nelnet Trading Up 1.3%

The company has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.34 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $132.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $132.04. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.66 by ($0.72). Nelnet had a net margin of 18.45% and a return on equity of 11.73%. The company had revenue of $419.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $443.84 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Nelnet, Inc. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Nelnet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Nelnet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nelnet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NNI. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Nelnet by 19.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 14,206 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,832,000 after acquiring an additional 2,295 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its holdings in Nelnet by 47.9% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 50,718 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,541,000 after buying an additional 16,428 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Nelnet by 51.4% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 445 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Nelnet by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $992,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in Nelnet by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 4,822 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. 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.