Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) Hits New 52-Week High on Earnings Beat

Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $21.73 and last traded at $21.55, with a volume of 118220 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.34.

The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.07. Perdoceo Education had a return on equity of 17.63% and a net margin of 20.80%. The business had revenue of $168.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $163.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 14.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Perdoceo Education Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Perdoceo Education's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barrington Research boosted their target price on shares of Perdoceo Education from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com cut shares of Perdoceo Education from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Ashish R. Ghia sold 11,412 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total value of $216,828.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 226,234 shares in the company, valued at $4,298,446. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Perdoceo Education news, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 16,000 shares of Perdoceo Education stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total transaction of $275,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 713,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,291,313.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ashish R. Ghia sold 11,412 shares of Perdoceo Education stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total transaction of $216,828.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 226,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,298,446. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 75,412 shares of company stock worth $1,342,428 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.81% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Perdoceo Education

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PRDO. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Perdoceo Education by 117.7% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,213,839 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,315,000 after buying an additional 656,280 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Perdoceo Education by 32.8% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,602,905 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,147,000 after buying an additional 395,481 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Perdoceo Education by 59.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,028,253 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,583,000 after buying an additional 381,665 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Perdoceo Education by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,217,547 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,380,000 after buying an additional 366,202 shares during the period. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Perdoceo Education by 39.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 846,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,477,000 after buying an additional 240,526 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.46% of the company's stock.

Perdoceo Education Trading Up 31.5 %

The company has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.92. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $17.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.65.

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.