Which Is a Better Investment, Navient Corp or Nelnet, Inc. Stock?

By AAII Staff
September 03, 2026
Large versus logo comparing two stocks in the same industry
Featured Tickers:

Sifting through countless of stocks in the Consumer Finance industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Navient Corporation, Nelnet or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Navient Corporation, Nelnet and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Navient Corporation, Nelnet and Inc.

Navient Corporation provides technology-enabled education finance for education in the United States. It operates through two segments: Federal Education Loans and Consumer Lending. The company owns and manages portfolio of private education loans; and offers education lending and digital financial services, in-school student loans, and refinancing products under Earnest brand. It also owns Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans that are insured or guaranteed by state or not-for-profit agencies; and performs servicing on its portfolios, as well as federal education loans held by other institutions. Navient Corporation was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia.

Nelnet, Inc. engages in loan servicing, education technology services, and payment businesses worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Loan Servicing and Systems, Education Technology Services and Payments, Asset Generation and Management, and Nelnet Bank. The Loan Servicing and Systems segment provides loan conversion, application processing, borrower updates, customer, payment processing, due diligence procedures, funds management reconciliation, and claim processing services. This segment also offers student loan servicing software; and business process outsourcing services primarily in contact center management, such as inbound calls, outreach campaigns and sales, and interacting with customers through multi-channels, and processing and administrative services. The Education Technology Services and Payments segment provides financial management services; school information system software; a donation platform; education technology solutions; and customized professional development and coaching, and advanced learning and educational instruction services. This segment also offers tuition payment plans, and service and technology for student billings, payments, and refunds; solutions for in-person, online, and mobile payment experiences on campus; payment processing services, such as credit card and electronic transfer; learning management system; an integrated commerce payment platform; and a school management platform that provides administrative, information and financial management, and communication functions for K-12 schools. The Asset Generation and Management segment invest, allocates an manages loan assts. The Nelnet Bank segment operates as an internet industrial bank. It also offers investment advisory, investment, and reinsurance services, as well as engages in the real estate investment; and solar engineering, procurement, and construction businesses. The company was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Latest Consumer Finance and Navient Corporation, Nelnet, Inc. Stock News

As of September 2, 2026, Navient Corporation had a $896.6 million market capitalization, compared to the Consumer Finance median of $1.0 million. Navient Corporation’s stock is down 27.1% in 2026, up 1.8% in the previous five trading days and down 30.37% in the past year.

Currently, Navient Corporation does not have a price-earnings ratio. Navient Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $334.0 million with a -14.7% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 4.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $0.765 per share for the current fiscal year. Navient Corporation currently has a 6.7% dividend yield.

As of September 2, 2026, Nelnet, Inc. had a $4.6 billion market cap, putting it in the 66th percentile of all stocks. Nelnet, Inc.’s stock is down 4.3% in 2026, down 0.1% in the previous five trading days and down 0.07% in the past year.

Currently, Nelnet, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 15.2. Nelnet, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.5 billion with a 20.3% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -30.5%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $7.500 per share for the current fiscal year. Nelnet, Inc. currently has a 1.0% dividend yield.

How We Compare Navient Corporation, Nelnet and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Navient Corporation, Nelnet and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

Learn more about A+ Investor here!

Sign Up to Receive a Free Special Report Showing How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Smarter Investment Decisions

Navient Corporation, Nelnet and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company Ticker Value
Navient Corporation NAVI A
Nelnet, Inc. NNI B

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Navient Corporation has a Value Score of 97, which is Deep Value. Nelnet, Inc. has a Value Score of 66, which is Value.

The Value Stock Winner: Navient Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Value Grade breakdown above, Navient Corporation is considered to have better value than Nelnet, Inc.. For investors who focus solely on a company’s valuation, Navient Corporation could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Navient Corporation, Nelnet and Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company Ticker Momentum
Navient Corporation NAVI D
Nelnet, Inc. NNI D

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Navient Corporation has a Momentum Score of 37, which is Weak. Nelnet, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 37, which is Weak.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Navient Corporation, Nelnet or Inc. has a strong enough Momentum Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Navient Corporation, Nelnet or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

Navient Corporation, Nelnet and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company Ticker Earnings Estimate
Navient Corporation NAVI B
Nelnet, Inc. NNI F

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Navient Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 72, which is Positive. Nelnet, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 16, which is Very Negative.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Navient Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Navient Corporation has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than Nelnet, Inc.. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Navient Corporation could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Don’t Forget Your Free Special Report on How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Investment Decisions

Other Navient Corporation, Nelnet and Inc. Grades

In addition to Value, Momentum and Estimate Revisions, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Quality.

AAII Platinum Banner

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Navient Corporation, Nelnet and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Navient Corporation, Nelnet or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Navient Corporation stock has a Value Score of 97, Momentum Score of 37 and Estimate Revisions Score of 72.

Nelnet, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 66, Momentum Score of 37 and Estimate Revisions Score of 16.

Comparing Navient Corporation, Nelnet and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

Learn More About A+ Investor

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.



Find New Stock Opportunities With Included With AAII Platinum
Zweig Screen: 11.3% Compared to S&P 500
at only 6.9%

Gain Since Inception. Data as of 12/31/2024.




Try AAII Platinum and get full access to
769.3% Stock Superstars Portfolio Total Return Since Inception
Compare to:
710.3% iShare DOW Jones
U.S. Index ETF (IYY)

SSR Group 3 O'Shaughnessy portfolio has a 411.2% gain since inception performance compared to IYY at only 119.1%% Performance as of 11/29/24.

Get your free copy of our special report analyzing the tech stocks most likely to outperform the market.

Download the FREE Report Here:

BECOME A MEMBER FOR ONLY $2

Get access to powerful investment discovery tools and a wealth of investment education to help you achieve your financial goals.