Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) Reaches New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Shares of Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $32.03 and last traded at $30.60, with a volume of 144778 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.06.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRDO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barrington Research lifted their price objective 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Perdoceo Education from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th.

Perdoceo Education Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 5.45 and a current ratio of 4.84. The business's 50 day moving average is $25.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.35.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.04. Perdoceo Education had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 16.85%. The business had revenue of $213.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $207.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. Perdoceo Education's revenue was up 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 1st will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Perdoceo Education's payout ratio is 23.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Perdoceo Education

In other Perdoceo Education news, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 38,984 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.66, for a total value of $961,345.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 644,047 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,882,199.02. This trade represents a 5.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Elise Baskel sold 17,818 shares of Perdoceo Education stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.16, for a total transaction of $430,482.88. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 93,354 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,255,432.64. This represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 123,782 shares of company stock valued at $3,167,399 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.11% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Perdoceo Education

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Perdoceo Education during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Perdoceo Education by 227.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Perdoceo Education during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. 93.46% of the stock is owned by 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.

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