Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED) Stock Rating Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks reports.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on PXED. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Phoenix Education Partners from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. B. Riley Financial reduced their price target on shares of Phoenix Education Partners from $54.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Phoenix Education Partners to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Phoenix Education Partners in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Phoenix Education Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.60.

Phoenix Education Partners Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of PXED stock opened at $25.02 on Thursday. Phoenix Education Partners has a 1 year low of $23.52 and a 1 year high of $47.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $901.97 million and a PE ratio of 11.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $27.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.91.

Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.15. Phoenix Education Partners had a return on equity of 60.06% and a net margin of 8.18%.The company had revenue of $271.80 million for the quarter. As a group, research analysts expect that Phoenix Education Partners will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Phoenix Education Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 29th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 29th. Phoenix Education Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.07%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Phoenix Education Partners

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PXED. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Phoenix Education Partners by 48.3% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 743,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,411,000 after purchasing an additional 241,997 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Phoenix Education Partners in the second quarter valued at $12,620,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Phoenix Education Partners in the second quarter valued at $2,398,000. Bastion Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Phoenix Education Partners during the 1st quarter worth $2,085,000. Finally, Manatuck Hill Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Phoenix Education Partners in the 4th quarter worth $1,364,000.

Phoenix Education Partners Company Profile

Phoenix Education Partners, Inc (NYSE: PXED) is an education company focused on providing higher education and career-oriented learning opportunities for working adults. Its principal institution is University of Phoenix, which offers programs designed to accommodate students balancing education with professional and personal responsibilities.

Through University of Phoenix, the company provides online and flexible learning options in areas such as business, education, health care, information technology, nursing, and criminal justice.