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

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Separately, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Perdoceo Education in a research note on Monday, April 15th.

Perdoceo Education Stock Performance

PRDO stock traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $18.62. The company had a trading volume of 713,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 508,275. The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 8.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.96. Perdoceo Education has a 12 month low of $11.50 and a 12 month high of $19.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $17.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.63.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $147.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $146.20 million. Perdoceo Education had a net margin of 20.80% and a return on equity of 17.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Perdoceo Education will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Perdoceo Education

In other news, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.70, for a total value of $283,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 617,367 shares in the company, valued at $10,927,395.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Perdoceo Education news, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.70, for a total transaction of $283,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 617,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,927,395.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.50, for a total transaction of $175,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 685,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,674,313. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 105,500 shares of company stock worth $1,893,350. Insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Perdoceo Education

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