Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED) Stock Rating Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley downgraded Phoenix Education Partners from Overweight to Equal Weight, while keeping its $28 price target—about 19% above the prior close.
• Analyst views are mixed but average to Hold, with a consensus price target of $33.40; B. Riley also cut its rating, from Buy to Neutral.
• Fiscal fourth-quarter results matched expectations: EPS was $1.07 and revenue was $260.68 million. The company also raised its quarterly dividend 9.5% to $0.23 per share.

Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report released on Wednesday, Briefing.com reports. They currently have a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley's target price would indicate a potential upside of 19.17% from the stock's previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on PXED. Weiss Ratings downgraded Phoenix Education Partners from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Phoenix Education Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Phoenix Education Partners from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Phoenix Education Partners from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, B. Riley Financial cut shares of Phoenix Education Partners from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Phoenix Education Partners presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.40.

Phoenix Education Partners Stock Performance

PXED opened at $23.50 on Wednesday. Phoenix Education Partners has a 12-month low of $23.15 and a 12-month high of $36.40. The stock has a market cap of $846.99 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.93. The business has a 50 day moving average of $26.01 and a 200-day moving average of $28.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.07. The company 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 research analysts expect that Phoenix Education Partners will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Woods sold 19,453 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.89, for a total value of $503,638.17. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 62,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,622,836.98. This represents a 23.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 20,703 shares of company stock valued at $534,904 over the last three months. Insiders own 5.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Phoenix Education Partners

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PXED. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Phoenix Education Partners by 48.3% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 743,112 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,411,000 after buying an additional 241,997 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Phoenix Education Partners during the 2nd quarter worth $12,620,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Phoenix Education Partners during the 2nd quarter worth $2,398,000. Bastion Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Phoenix Education Partners in the 1st quarter valued at $2,085,000. Finally, Curated Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Phoenix Education Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,653,000.

Trending Headlines about Phoenix Education Partners

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

• Positive Sentiment: Phoenix Education Partners raised its quarterly dividend 9.5%, to $0.23 per share from $0.21. That amounts to $0.92 annualized, or a 3.9% yield at the cited share price; the dividend is payable November 27 to shareholders of record November 13. Dividend announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Fiscal Q4 EPS was $1.07, up from $1.04 a year earlier, while revenue was $260.68 million. Q4 earnings report
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly EPS matched analyst expectations, so the result did not deliver an earnings surprise. Fiscal 2026 results
• Negative Sentiment: B. Riley downgraded PXED from Buy to Neutral, potentially limiting investor enthusiasm. Its $25 price target still implies about 6.4% upside from $23.50, but the rating change is a less favorable signal. B. Riley downgrade

Phoenix Education Partners Company Profile

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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