Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning.

Separately, Barrington Research increased their price target on shares of Perdoceo Education from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd.

Perdoceo Education Stock Down 0.5 %

PRDO opened at $30.35 on Monday. Perdoceo Education has a 12 month low of $20.23 and a 12 month high of $31.22. The company has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of 13.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 4.84, a quick ratio of 5.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a 50 day moving average of $25.69 and a 200 day moving average of $26.14.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.04. Perdoceo Education had a return on equity of 16.85% and a net margin of 21.66%. The firm had revenue of $213.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $207.97 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Perdoceo Education will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Perdoceo Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Perdoceo Education’s dividend payout ratio is 23.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michele A. Peppers sold 13,091 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $392,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,497,420. The trade was a 20.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Elise Baskel sold 17,818 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.16, for a total value of $430,482.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 93,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,255,432.64. This represents a 16.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 123,782 shares of company stock worth $3,167,399 in the last ninety days. 2.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Perdoceo Education

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Perdoceo Education by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,296,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,251,000 after buying an additional 241,147 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Perdoceo Education by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,817,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,129,000 after acquiring an additional 14,591 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Perdoceo Education in the 4th quarter valued at $47,129,000. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Perdoceo Education by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 1,739,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,042,000 after purchasing an additional 85,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Perdoceo Education by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,627,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,072,000 after purchasing an additional 79,686 shares during the last quarter. 93.46% of the stock is currently 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.