Wall Street Zen Downgrades Pearson (NYSE:PSO) to Hold

Key Points

• Pearson's stock was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" to a "hold" rating in a recent research report.
• Despite the downgrade, Pearson still has an average rating of "Buy" from other analysts, with a current average target price of $18.00.
• Pearson's shares have shown a 1.1% decline, opening at $13.99, with institutional investors increasing their stakes in the company significantly over recent quarters.

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Pearson (NYSE:PSO - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on PSO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Pearson in a report on Monday, August 4th. BNP Paribas raised Pearson from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pearson has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $18.00.

Pearson Price Performance

NYSE PSO traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $13.98. The stock had a trading volume of 35,777 shares, compared to its average volume of 647,481. Pearson has a 52-week low of $13.27 and a 52-week high of $17.90. The company has a market cap of $9.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.16. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Pearson Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.0892 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 210.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Pearson's payout ratio is presently 22.34%.

Institutional Trading of Pearson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in Pearson by 1,798.8% in the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,633 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Pearson by 3,131.8% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,133 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 2,067 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in Pearson by 308.3% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,356 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,779 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in Pearson by 43.6% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,140 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Pearson in the second quarter worth about $64,000. 2.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Pearson

Pearson plc offers educational courseware, assessments, and services in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, the Asia Pacific, other European countries, and internationally. The company operates through five segments: Assessment & Qualifications, Virtual Learning, English Language Learning, Workforce Skills, and Higher Education.