Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) Stock Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $127.75 and traded as high as $133.30. Nelnet shares last traded at $132.7550, with a volume of 137,188 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Nelnet in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Nelnet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Nelnet from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Nelnet has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $135.00.

Nelnet Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a PE ratio of 11.16 and a beta of 0.83. 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 (NYSE:NNI) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $427.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $372.00 million. Nelnet had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 12.58%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Nelnet, Inc. will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Nelnet Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. 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. Nelnet’s dividend payout ratio is 11.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Deun Jona M. Van sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.95, for a total transaction of $51,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $90,780.80. The trade was a 36.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 50.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nelnet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Nelnet by 29.7% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 172,088 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $20,843,000 after acquiring an additional 39,417 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in Nelnet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,086,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Nelnet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Nelnet by 18.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 143,014 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,322,000 after buying an additional 21,782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Nelnet by 58,600.0% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 1,172 shares in the last quarter. 33.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.