Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) Hits New 52-Week High After Earnings Beat

Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $21.73 and last traded at $21.55, with a volume of 118220 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.34.

The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $168.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $163.30 million. Perdoceo Education had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 22.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share.

Perdoceo Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 1st will be given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Perdoceo Education’s payout ratio is presently 19.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on PRDO. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Perdoceo Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Barrington Research raised their price objective on Perdoceo Education from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.65, for a total transaction of $282,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 681,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,026,127.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Perdoceo Education news, CFO Ashish R. Ghia sold 11,412 shares of Perdoceo Education stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total value of $216,828.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 226,234 shares in the company, valued at $4,298,446. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.65, for a total transaction of $282,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 681,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,026,127.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 75,412 shares of company stock valued at $1,342,428 over the last quarter. 1.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Perdoceo Education

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. LSV Asset Management grew its position in Perdoceo Education by 117.7% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,213,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,315,000 after acquiring an additional 656,280 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Perdoceo Education by 32.8% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,602,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,147,000 after buying an additional 395,481 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 59.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,028,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,583,000 after buying an additional 381,665 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Perdoceo Education by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,217,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,380,000 after buying an additional 366,202 shares during the period. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 39.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 846,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,477,000 after acquiring an additional 240,526 shares during the last quarter. 93.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Perdoceo Education Trading Up 1.0 %

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.66, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.93.

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.