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

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Separately, Barrington Research raised their price target on Perdoceo Education from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Perdoceo Education Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PRDO traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $27.33. 347,367 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 465,824. The firm has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 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's fifty day moving average price is $22.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.56.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Perdoceo Education

In related news, SVP John Robert Kline sold 30,574 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.47, for a total transaction of $809,293.78. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Patrick W. Gross sold 3,400 shares of Perdoceo Education stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 69,635 shares in the company, valued at $1,862,039.90. This represents a 4.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,450 shares of company stock worth $1,036,206. Insiders own 1.81% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Perdoceo Education

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PRDO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Perdoceo Education by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,896,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,538,000 after buying an additional 45,259 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Perdoceo Education in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,570,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Perdoceo Education in the second quarter valued at approximately $954,000. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Perdoceo Education by 979.2% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 750,979 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,376,000 after purchasing an additional 681,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Perdoceo Education by 2.5% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,505,687 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,512,000 after purchasing an additional 107,918 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.