D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Takes Position in Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 59,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,567,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 0.09% of Perdoceo Education at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Perdoceo Education from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Barrington Research upped their target price on shares of Perdoceo Education from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd.

Perdoceo Education Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Perdoceo Education stock traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $31.03. 591,891 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 477,099. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.94. The company has a quick ratio of 5.45, a current ratio of 4.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.79. Perdoceo Education Co. has a twelve month low of $20.23 and a twelve month high of $32.03.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $213.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $207.97 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Perdoceo Education Co. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Perdoceo Education Dividend Announcement

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 is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Perdoceo Education's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Elise Baskel sold 17,818 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.16, for a total transaction of $430,482.88. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 93,354 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,255,432.64. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 38,984 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.66, for a total transaction of $961,345.44. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 127,820 shares of company stock worth $3,296,615 in the last three months. 2.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Perdoceo Education Company Profile

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.