Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.36 EPS

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The credit services provider reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.36), FiscalAI reports. Nelnet had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 8.28%. The firm had revenue of $410.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $419.92 million.

Nelnet Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of Nelnet stock opened at $131.82 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $131.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.77 and a beta of 0.78. Nelnet has a 52-week low of $116.62 and a 52-week high of $144.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 24.07 and a current ratio of 24.07.

Nelnet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Nelnet’s payout ratio is 11.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nelnet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NNI. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in Nelnet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nelnet by 170.3% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 373 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nelnet in the fourth quarter worth $59,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Nelnet during the second quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nelnet by 137.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 541 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NNI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nelnet in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research lowered Nelnet from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.00.

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.