Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

NNI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Nelnet from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Nelnet from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.00.

Nelnet Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE NNI opened at $124.79 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $125.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $129.89. Nelnet has a twelve month low of $116.62 and a twelve month high of $144.38. The company has a quick ratio of 15.89, a current ratio of 25.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The company has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.53 and a beta of 0.78.

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $436.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $427.37 million. Nelnet had a return on equity of 7.15% and a net margin of 12.93%. Research analysts forecast that Nelnet will post 7.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Nelnet by 26.8% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 35,563 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,377,000 after purchasing an additional 7,523 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Nelnet in the third quarter worth approximately $719,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Nelnet by 174.9% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 98,374 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,108,000 after buying an additional 62,589 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Nelnet by 9.7% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,091 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd raised its holdings in Nelnet by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd now owns 15,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,846,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 33.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Nelnet

Nelnet, Inc. is a diversified financial services and education technology company headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska. Founded in 1978, it initially focused on student loan servicing and has since expanded into services for borrowers, schools, and other organizations. The company provides student loan servicing and related technology, as well as education services such as tuition and payment processing, school administration tools, and online learning resources. Its other businesses include banking and renewable energy services.