Phoenix Education Partners, Inc. (NYSE:PXED) Stock Rated "Moderate Buy" by Wall Street Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Phoenix Education Partners, with four buy ratings, one strong-buy, two holds and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $40.60, well above the stock’s recent $23.88 price.
• Phoenix Education Partners recently outperformed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.43 EPS versus a $1.28 estimate on $271.8 million in revenue. Analysts expect full-year EPS of approximately $4.46.
• The stock is trading near its 52-week low, with its 50-day and 200-day moving averages at $26.94 and $29.16, respectively. Institutional investors, including BlackRock and Wellington Management, have recently established or increased positions, while an insider sold shares under a pre-arranged plan to cover tax obligations.

Shares of Phoenix Education Partners, Inc. (NYSE:PXED - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $40.60.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PXED shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Phoenix Education Partners from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Phoenix Education Partners to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. B. Riley Financial cut their price target on shares of Phoenix Education Partners from $54.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Phoenix Education Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced 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 note on Monday, October 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John Terrence Woods sold 19,453 shares of Phoenix Education Partners stock in a transaction on Friday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.89, for a total transaction of $503,638.17. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 62,682 shares of the company's stock, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 own 5.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Phoenix Education Partners

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Phoenix Education Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $12,620,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake 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 worth $24,411,000 after purchasing an additional 241,997 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Phoenix Education Partners during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,398,000. Bastion Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Phoenix Education Partners during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,085,000. Finally, Curated Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Phoenix Education Partners in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,653,000.

Phoenix Education Partners Stock Performance

Shares of Phoenix Education Partners stock opened at $23.88 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $26.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $860.95 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.11. Phoenix Education Partners has a 52 week low of $23.52 and a 52 week high of $38.19.

Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $271.80 million for the quarter. Phoenix Education Partners had a return on equity of 60.06% and a net margin of 8.18%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Phoenix Education Partners will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

About Phoenix Education Partners

Phoenix Education Partners, Inc NYSE: PXED is an education company focused on providing higher education and career-oriented learning opportunities for working adults. Its principal institution is University of Phoenix, which offers programs designed to accommodate students balancing education with professional and personal responsibilities.

Through University of Phoenix, the company provides online and flexible learning options in areas such as business, education, health care, information technology, nursing, and criminal justice.

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.