Squarepoint Ops LLC Acquires New Shares in Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO)

Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 231,717 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,134,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned 0.35% of Perdoceo Education at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRDO. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Perdoceo Education by 227.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 913 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Perdoceo Education by 223.6% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,793 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Perdoceo Education in the 4th quarter worth about $60,000. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Perdoceo Education by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,696 shares of the company's stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Perdoceo Education by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,875 shares of the company's stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,355 shares during the period. 93.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PRDO shares. Barrington Research raised their price objective on Perdoceo Education from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Perdoceo Education from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th.

Perdoceo Education Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:PRDO traded up $0.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $33.53. 115,018 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 478,632. The firm has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.23, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 5.45 and a current ratio of 4.84. Perdoceo Education Co. has a 52-week low of $20.23 and a 52-week high of $33.66. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $27.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.12.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.04. Perdoceo Education had a return on equity of 16.85% and a net margin of 21.66%. The business had revenue of $213.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $207.97 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. The company's revenue was up 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Perdoceo Education Co. will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Perdoceo Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Perdoceo Education's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Perdoceo Education news, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 38,984 shares of Perdoceo Education stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.66, for a total transaction of $961,345.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 644,047 shares in the company, valued at $15,882,199.02. The trade was a 5.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Elise Baskel sold 17,818 shares of Perdoceo Education stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.16, for a total value of $430,482.88. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 93,354 shares in the company, valued at $2,255,432.64. This represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 142,116 shares of company stock worth $3,735,359 in the last three months. 2.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.