Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

Separately, Barrington Research raised their price target on shares of Perdoceo Education from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Perdoceo Education Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PRDO opened at $27.81 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $23.34 and its 200-day moving average is $22.70. Perdoceo Education has a 1 year low of $16.12 and a 1 year high of $29.47. The company has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.04.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $169.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.60 million. Perdoceo Education had a return on equity of 15.58% and a net margin of 20.42%. The company’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Perdoceo Education will post 2.27 EPS for the current year.

Perdoceo Education Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Perdoceo Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP John Robert Kline sold 30,574 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.47, for a total value of $809,293.78. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 130,405 shares in the company, valued at $3,451,820.35. This represents a 18.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michele A. Peppers sold 6,476 shares of Perdoceo Education stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total value of $135,996.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 61,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,300,992. This trade represents a 9.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,450 shares of company stock worth $1,036,206. Corporate insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Perdoceo Education

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PRDO. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Perdoceo Education by 1,306.3% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,254 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Perdoceo Education by 38.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Perdoceo Education during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 650.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Perdoceo Education in the 2nd quarter worth $74,000. 93.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.