Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) Hits New 52-Week High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $29.84 and last traded at $28.37, with a volume of 53898 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $28.81.

The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $176.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.12 million. Perdoceo Education had a net margin of 20.42% and a return on equity of 15.58%.

Perdoceo Education Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Perdoceo Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PRDO. Barrington Research lifted their target price on shares of Perdoceo Education from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Perdoceo Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th.

Insider Transactions at Perdoceo Education

In related news, SVP John Robert Kline sold 12,148 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total transaction of $313,296.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 130,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,363,144.95. The trade was a 8.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 12,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.29, for a total transaction of $327,888.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 615,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,186,674.13. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRDO. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Perdoceo Education by 38.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Perdoceo Education by 3,465.3% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 6,099 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Perdoceo Education by 8.1% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 97,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after acquiring an additional 7,328 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new stake in Perdoceo Education in the third quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Perdoceo Education by 71.3% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 73,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,642,000 after acquiring an additional 30,725 shares during the last quarter. 93.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Perdoceo Education Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.72.

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.