Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Thursday morning.

Separately, Barrington Research boosted their price target on Perdoceo Education from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Perdoceo Education Stock Up 1.0 %

Perdoceo Education stock opened at $26.55 on Thursday. Perdoceo Education has a 12-month low of $16.12 and a 12-month high of $29.47. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $22.27 and its 200 day moving average is $22.44. The company has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a PE ratio of 13.34, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.04.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Perdoceo Education had a net margin of 20.42% and a return on equity of 15.58%. The firm had revenue of $169.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Perdoceo Education will post 2.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Perdoceo Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Perdoceo Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.13%.

Insider Transactions at Perdoceo Education

In other Perdoceo Education news, insider Michele A. Peppers sold 6,476 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total value of $135,996.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,300,992. This trade represents a 9.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Perdoceo Education

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRDO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Perdoceo Education by 0.8% in the 1st 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. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Perdoceo Education by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,069,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,580,000 after acquiring an additional 28,909 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Perdoceo Education by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,505,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,512,000 after acquiring an additional 107,918 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Perdoceo Education by 24.3% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,650,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,766,000 after acquiring an additional 518,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Perdoceo Education by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,010,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,060,000 after purchasing an additional 75,293 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.