Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI) Increases Dividend to $0.33 Per Share

Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a dividend of 0.33 per share by the credit services provider on Monday, December 15th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This is a 10.0% increase from Nelnet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30.

Nelnet has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years. Nelnet has a dividend payout ratio of 14.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Nelnet to earn $5.90 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 20.3%.

Nelnet Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NNI stock traded up $2.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $132.48. 22,889 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 69,578. Nelnet has a fifty-two week low of $98.15 and a fifty-two week high of $136.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $128.06 and its 200-day moving average is $121.78. The company has a current ratio of 29.42, a quick ratio of 29.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.27. The company has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 0.85.

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) last announced its earnings results 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. Nelnet had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 14.86%.The firm had revenue of $427.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $372.00 million. Analysts predict that Nelnet will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nelnet news, major shareholder Shelby J. Butterfield sold 41,929 shares of Nelnet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.25, for a total transaction of $5,000,033.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,817.50. The trade was a 98.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Edward Henning sold 5,094 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.87, for a total transaction of $656,463.78. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,058 shares in the company, valued at $1,425,044.46. This trade represents a 31.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 50,125 shares of company stock valued at $6,056,252 over the last three months. 50.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nelnet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nelnet by 13.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,535,569 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $170,341,000 after buying an additional 187,813 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nelnet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,429,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Nelnet by 29.7% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 172,088 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $20,843,000 after purchasing an additional 39,417 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Nelnet by 66.4% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 96,840 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,729,000 after purchasing an additional 38,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Nelnet by 421.7% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 46,474 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,629,000 after purchasing an additional 37,566 shares during the period. 33.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nelnet Company Profile

Nelnet, Inc engages in loan servicing, communications, education technology, services, and payment processing businesses worldwide. The Loan Servicing and Systems segment provides loan conversion, application processing, borrower updates, customer service, payment processing, due diligence procedures, funds management reconciliation, and claim processing services.