Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED) Sets New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Phoenix Education Partners, Inc. (NYSE:PXED)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Friday. The stock traded as low as $23.50 and last traded at $23.70, with a volume of 15,666 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.98.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PXED shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Phoenix Education Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Phoenix Education Partners from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. B. Riley Financial decreased their target price on shares of Phoenix Education Partners from $54.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Zacks Research raised Phoenix Education Partners from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Phoenix Education Partners from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.60.

Phoenix Education Partners Trading Down 2.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $846.81 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.93.

Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $271.80 million during the quarter. Phoenix Education Partners had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 60.06%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Phoenix Education Partners, Inc. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Phoenix Education Partners news, insider John Terrence Woods sold 19,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.89, for a total value of $503,638.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 62,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,622,836.98. This represents a 23.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 5.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Phoenix Education Partners

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Phoenix Education Partners in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $12,620,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Phoenix Education Partners by 48.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 743,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,411,000 after purchasing an additional 241,997 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Phoenix Education Partners during the 2nd quarter worth $2,398,000. Bastion Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Phoenix Education Partners in the first quarter valued at $2,085,000. Finally, Curated Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Phoenix Education Partners during the third quarter valued at $1,653,000.

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.