Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) Sets New 52-Week High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Perdoceo Education Corporation (NASDAQ: PRDO) reached a new 52-week high at $35.40, with a current trading price of $35.13 and over 496,000 shares exchanged during the trading session.
• Analysts have set a target price of $40.00 for the stock, with an average rating of "Buy" based on positive quarterly earnings that exceeded expectations.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.15 per share, representing a yield of 1.7% and a payout ratio of 25.97%.

Shares of Perdoceo Education Corporation (NASDAQ:PRDO - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $35.40 and last traded at $35.13, with a volume of 496565 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Perdoceo Education in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Perdoceo Education presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Perdoceo Education Price Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average is $31.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.67. The company has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.13, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.27 and a quick ratio of 4.26.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Perdoceo Education had a net margin of 20.09% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The company had revenue of $209.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $206.92 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. Perdoceo Education's quarterly revenue was up 25.7% on a year-over-year basis. Perdoceo Education has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 0.600-0.620 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 2.480-2.550 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Perdoceo Education Corporation will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Perdoceo Education Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from Perdoceo Education's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Perdoceo Education's payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Insider Activity at Perdoceo Education

In other Perdoceo Education news, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 40,000 shares of Perdoceo Education stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.17, for a total transaction of $1,406,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 524,047 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,430,732.99. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Elise Baskel sold 21,212 shares of Perdoceo Education stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $742,420.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 72,142 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,524,970. The trade was a 22.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 205,656 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,148 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.11% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Perdoceo Education

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 36,424 shares of the company's stock valued at $951,000 after buying an additional 3,095 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Perdoceo Education during the first quarter valued at approximately $464,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 8,468 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in Perdoceo Education by 212.6% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 62,026 shares of the company's stock worth $1,562,000 after purchasing an additional 42,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Calamos Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Perdoceo Education during the 1st quarter worth $437,000. 93.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.