Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases Shares of 8,162 Perdoceo Education Corporation (NASDAQ:PRDO)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has acquired a new stake in Perdoceo Education Corporation, purchasing 8,162 shares valued at approximately $206,000.
• Perdoceo Education announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.15, reflecting a positive change from the previous $0.13.
• Insiders, including SVP John Robert Kline, have sold a significant amount of stock recently, with a total of 131,474 shares sold in the last ninety days valued at over $4 million.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Perdoceo Education Corporation (NASDAQ:PRDO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 8,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 36,424 shares of the company's stock worth $951,000 after acquiring an additional 3,095 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Perdoceo Education during the 1st quarter valued at about $464,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Perdoceo Education by 2.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 327,431 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,245,000 after buying an additional 8,468 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in Perdoceo Education by 212.6% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 62,026 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,562,000 after buying an additional 42,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Calamos Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Perdoceo Education in the first quarter worth about $437,000. 93.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Perdoceo Education

In related news, SVP Sunitha Araamudhu sold 14,296 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.69, for a total transaction of $438,744.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 34,891 shares in the company, valued at $1,070,804.79. The trade was a 29.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP John Robert Kline sold 71,254 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.75, for a total transaction of $2,262,314.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 75,868 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,408,809. This trade represents a 48.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 180,517 shares of company stock worth $5,658,207. Company insiders own 2.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PRDO shares. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Perdoceo Education in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Perdoceo Education from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th.

Perdoceo Education Stock Performance

Shares of PRDO traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $32.21. The company had a trading volume of 109,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 610,179. The firm has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.94, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a fifty day moving average of $30.85 and a 200-day moving average of $28.63. Perdoceo Education Corporation has a 12 month low of $20.55 and a 12 month high of $34.60. The company has a quick ratio of 4.26, a current ratio of 4.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $209.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $206.92 million. Perdoceo Education had a net margin of 20.09% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 25.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Perdoceo Education Corporation will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Perdoceo Education Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.15 dividend. This is an increase from Perdoceo Education's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Perdoceo Education's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.51%.

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.