Phoenix Education Partners, Inc. (NYSE:PXED) Stock Has Average Target Price of $31.67 According to Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate PXED “Hold” on average: Nine analysts set a consensus 12-month price target of $31.67, while recent target cuts included B. Riley’s reduction from $44 to $25 and Truist’s from $38 to $23.
• The stock opened at $19.20, near its 52-week low of $19.07. Its latest quarterly results matched consensus at $1.07 per share, on revenue of $260.68 million.
• Phoenix Education Partners raised its quarterly dividend from $0.21 to $0.23 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.92 dividend and a reported 4.8% yield.

Shares of Phoenix Education Partners, Inc. (NYSE:PXED - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Hold" by the nine analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.67.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. B. Riley Financial cut shares of Phoenix Education Partners from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $44.00 to $25.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Barrington Research cut shares of Phoenix Education Partners from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Phoenix Education Partners to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Phoenix Education Partners from $38.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Woods sold 19,453 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.89, for a total value of $503,638.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 62,682 shares in the company, valued at $1,622,836.98. This trade represents a 23.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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. Insiders sold a total of 20,703 shares of company stock valued at $534,904 over the last quarter. 5.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Phoenix Education Partners

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PXED. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Phoenix Education Partners by 48.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 743,112 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,411,000 after acquiring an additional 241,997 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Phoenix Education Partners in the second quarter valued at about $12,620,000. Royce & Associates LP purchased a new stake in shares of Phoenix Education Partners in the third quarter valued at about $2,172,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Phoenix Education Partners in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,398,000. Finally, Bastion Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Phoenix Education Partners in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,085,000.

Phoenix Education Partners Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:PXED opened at $19.20 on Tuesday. Phoenix Education Partners has a fifty-two week low of $19.07 and a fifty-two week high of $35.90. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $25.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market cap of $704.44 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39.

Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.07. Phoenix Education Partners had a net margin of 8.74% and a return on equity of 57.86%. The business had revenue of $260.68 million during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Phoenix Education Partners will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Phoenix Education Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. This is a positive change from Phoenix Education Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. Phoenix Education Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.68%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.