Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) Stock Jumps 5.9% – Should You Buy?

Perdoceo Education Corporation (NASDAQ:PRDO)’s share price shot up 5.9% on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $29.01 and last traded at $29.0680. Approximately 151,219 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 646,640 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Perdoceo Education in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Perdoceo Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.00.

Perdoceo Education Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.24. The company has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of 10.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.76.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $215.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $211.07 million. Perdoceo Education had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 20.62%. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Perdoceo Education Corporation will post 3.17 EPS for the current year.

Perdoceo Education Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 27th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 27th. Perdoceo Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.94%.

Insider Transactions at Perdoceo Education

In other news, CEO Todd Nelson sold 46,199 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.89, for a total transaction of $1,519,485.11. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 301,782 shares in the company, valued at $9,925,609.98. The trade was a 13.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Perdoceo Education

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Perdoceo Education in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $294,217,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Perdoceo Education by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,907,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,395,000 after buying an additional 108,727 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Perdoceo Education by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,970,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,521,000 after buying an additional 64,399 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Perdoceo Education by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,108,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,235,000 after buying an additional 338,556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Callodine Capital Management LP grew its stake in Perdoceo Education by 36.6% in the 1st quarter. Callodine Capital Management LP now owns 1,316,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,988,000 after acquiring an additional 352,850 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.46% of the company’s stock.

About Perdoceo Education

Perdoceo Education Corporation provides postsecondary education through Colorado Technical University (CTU) and American InterContinental University (AIU). The institutions offer undergraduate and graduate degree programs, as well as certificates, in fields including business, technology, healthcare, and criminal justice. Both universities deliver much of their instruction online and also maintain campus locations. Their programs are designed to serve working adults and other students seeking flexible study options, primarily in the United States.