Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Perdoceo Education in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Perdoceo Education currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.00.

Perdoceo Education Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ PRDO opened at $26.88 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $32.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.27. The company has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.76. Perdoceo Education has a 12 month low of $26.24 and a 12 month high of $38.50.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. Perdoceo Education had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 21.06%. The company had revenue of $215.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $211.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. Perdoceo Education’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Perdoceo Education will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Perdoceo Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 27th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 27th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Perdoceo Education’s payout ratio is presently 24.82%.

Insider Activity

In other Perdoceo Education news, Chairman Gregory L. Jackson sold 11,271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.78, for a total value of $358,192.38. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 64,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,064,079.22. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 46,199 shares of Perdoceo Education stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.89, for a total transaction of $1,519,485.11. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 301,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,925,609.98. This represents a 13.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRDO. Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Perdoceo Education by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 25,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $782,000 after buying an additional 7,190 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Perdoceo Education by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 61,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,905,000 after buying an additional 5,446 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its stake in Perdoceo Education by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 13,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 5,288 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 645.6% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 70,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,174,000 after acquiring an additional 60,839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in Perdoceo Education by 3.3% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 30,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $933,000 after acquiring an additional 956 shares during the period. 93.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Perdoceo Education Company Profile

Perdoceo Education Corporation (NASDAQ: PRDO) is a provider of postsecondary education focused primarily on online learning. Through its institutions, the company offers career-oriented academic programs designed for working adults and other nontraditional students.

Perdoceo’s education brands include American InterContinental University and Colorado Technical University, which offer associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs in areas such as business, information technology, healthcare, criminal justice and engineering.