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

StockNews.com lowered shares of Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Separately, Barrington Research increased their price objective on shares of Perdoceo Education from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th.

Perdoceo Education Trading Down 0.7 %

Perdoceo Education stock traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $27.45. 188,116 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 463,670. The company has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.04. Perdoceo Education has a twelve month low of $16.12 and a twelve month high of $29.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $23.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.70.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $169.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.60 million. Perdoceo Education had a net margin of 20.42% and a return on equity of 15.58%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Perdoceo Education will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Perdoceo Education Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Perdoceo Education's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.13%.

Insider Transactions at Perdoceo Education

In related news, Director Patrick W. Gross sold 3,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.74, for a total value of $90,916.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 69,635 shares in the company, valued at $1,862,039.90. This trade represents a 4.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John Robert Kline sold 30,574 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.47, for a total transaction of $809,293.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 130,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,451,820.35. This trade represents a 18.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 40,450 shares of company stock valued at $1,036,206. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Perdoceo Education by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 278,091 shares of the company's stock worth $5,954,000 after buying an additional 24,434 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Perdoceo Education during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $647,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Perdoceo Education by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,803,391 shares of the company's stock worth $40,114,000 after buying an additional 33,092 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Perdoceo Education by 353.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 110,622 shares of the company's stock worth $2,460,000 after buying an additional 86,227 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Perdoceo Education during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,374,000. Institutional investors own 93.46% of the company's stock.

Perdoceo Education Company Profile

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.