Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) Downgraded by StockNews.com

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

Separately, Barrington Research reissued an outperform rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Perdoceo Education in a research report on Monday, April 15th.

Perdoceo Education Stock Up 1.3 %

Perdoceo Education stock opened at $18.86 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 8.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.96. Perdoceo Education has a 52-week low of $11.50 and a 52-week high of $19.62. The company’s 50 day moving average is $17.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.64.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.04. Perdoceo Education had a net margin of 20.80% and a return on equity of 17.63%. The company had revenue of $147.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $146.20 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Perdoceo Education will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Perdoceo Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Perdoceo Education’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.18%.

Insider Activity at Perdoceo Education

In related news, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.50, for a total value of $175,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 685,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,674,313. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.50, for a total value of $175,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 685,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,674,313. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.70, for a total transaction of $283,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 617,367 shares in the company, valued at $10,927,395.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 89,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,597,350 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Perdoceo Education during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Perdoceo Education during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. AJOVista LLC purchased a new position in Perdoceo Education during the 4th quarter worth $81,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its position in Perdoceo Education by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 6,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in Perdoceo Education during the 3rd quarter worth $193,000. 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.