Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $25.17, but opened at $27.03. Perdoceo Education shares last traded at $29.88, with a volume of 151,353 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $213.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $207.97 million. Perdoceo Education had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 16.85%. Perdoceo Education’s quarterly revenue was up 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.60 EPS.

Perdoceo Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Perdoceo Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Perdoceo Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barrington Research raised their price target on shares of Perdoceo Education from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday.

Insider Transactions at Perdoceo Education

In related news, SVP Elise Baskel sold 17,818 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.16, for a total transaction of $430,482.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 93,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,255,432.64. This represents a 16.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 38,984 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.66, for a total transaction of $961,345.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 644,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,882,199.02. This represents a 5.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 110,691 shares of company stock valued at $2,774,669. 2.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Perdoceo Education

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Perdoceo Education by 227.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in Perdoceo Education by 223.6% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Perdoceo Education in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Perdoceo Education by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Perdoceo Education by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 1,355 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.46% of the company’s stock.

Perdoceo Education Stock Up 22.5 %

The company has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.84 and a quick ratio of 5.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $25.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.98.

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.