Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED) Cut to Market Perform at Barrington Research

Key Points

• Barrington Research downgraded Phoenix Education Partners to Market Perform, amid other rating cuts: B. Riley lowered its target from $44 to $25, and Morgan Stanley moved to Equal Weight. Analysts’ consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $31.67.
• Phoenix reported quarterly earnings of $1.07 per share, matching estimates, on revenue of $260.68 million. It also raised its quarterly dividend 9.5% to $0.23 per share.
• Shares fell $1.64 to $21.75 in Wednesday trading, near the stock’s 12-month low of $21.25.

Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Barrington Research from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Briefing.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Phoenix Education Partners from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. B. Riley Financial lowered Phoenix Education Partners from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $44.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded Phoenix Education Partners from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Phoenix Education Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Phoenix Education Partners from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $28.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.67.

Phoenix Education Partners Price Performance

NYSE:PXED traded down $1.64 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $21.75. The stock had a trading volume of 150,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 101,830. Phoenix Education Partners has a 12 month low of $21.25 and a 12 month high of $35.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $784.09 million and a PE ratio of 10.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.84.

Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.07. The firm had revenue of $260.68 million during the quarter. Phoenix Education Partners had a return on equity of 60.06% and a net margin of 8.18%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Phoenix Education Partners will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Woods sold 19,453 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.89, for a total value of $503,638.17. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 62,682 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,622,836.98. This represents a 23.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,703 shares of company stock worth $534,904. Corporate insiders own 5.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Phoenix Education Partners during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in shares of Phoenix Education Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Phoenix Education Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at $64,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Phoenix Education Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at $78,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Phoenix Education Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at $191,000.

Key Phoenix Education Partners News

Here are the key news stories impacting Phoenix Education Partners this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its quarterly dividend 9.5%, from $0.21 to $0.23 per share. The new annualized payout is $0.92, equivalent to a yield of about 3.9%.
• Neutral Sentiment: Fiscal fourth-quarter earnings were $1.07 per share, in line with analyst estimates and up from $1.04 a year earlier. Revenue was $260.68 million; the reported results provide no clear earnings surprise to drive the shares. Phoenix Education Partners Q4 Earnings Match Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: B. Riley downgraded PXED from Buy to Neutral and cut its price target sharply, from $44 to $25. Although the new target remains above the recent share price, the lower rating and reduced target may weigh on sentiment. B. Riley Downgrades Phoenix Education Partners to Neutral
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley also downgraded PXED, moving its rating from Overweight to Equal Weight. Its $28 price target still implies potential upside from the recent price, but the rating change signals a less bullish view. Morgan Stanley recommendations

About Phoenix Education Partners

Phoenix Education Partners, Inc is a higher education company focused on serving working adults and other nontraditional students. Through the University of Phoenix, its principal operating institution, the company provides career-oriented undergraduate and graduate degree programs, professional certificates, and other educational offerings.

The University of Phoenix primarily delivers instruction through online learning, with programs designed to offer flexible scheduling for students balancing education with employment and other responsibilities.

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