Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com lowered shares of Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

Separately, Barrington Research reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Perdoceo Education in a research report on Monday, April 15th.

Perdoceo Education Stock Up 1.3 %

PRDO stock opened at $18.86 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $17.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.64. Perdoceo Education has a 12 month low of $11.50 and a 12 month high of $19.62.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.04. Perdoceo Education had a net margin of 20.80% and a return on equity of 17.63%. The firm had revenue of $147.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $146.20 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Perdoceo Education will post 2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Perdoceo Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Perdoceo Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.18%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total transaction of $275,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 713,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,291,313.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Perdoceo Education news, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.50, for a total value of $175,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 685,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,674,313. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total transaction of $275,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 713,367 shares in the company, valued at $12,291,313.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 73,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,301,350. 1.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Perdoceo Education

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PRDO. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Perdoceo Education by 117.7% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,213,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,315,000 after purchasing an additional 656,280 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Perdoceo Education by 32.8% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,602,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,147,000 after buying an additional 395,481 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Perdoceo Education by 59.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,028,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,583,000 after acquiring an additional 381,665 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Perdoceo Education by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,217,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,380,000 after acquiring an additional 366,202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Perdoceo Education by 39.7% in the third quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 846,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,477,000 after acquiring an additional 240,526 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.46% of the company’s stock.

About Perdoceo Education

Perdoceo Education Corporation provides postsecondary education through online, campus-based, and blended learning programs in the United States. It operates in two segments, Colorado Technical University and The American InterContinental University System. The Colorado Technical University segment offers academic programs, such as business and management, nursing, healthcare management, computer science, engineering, information systems and technology, project management, cybersecurity, and criminal justice.