Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) Shares Down 4.7% - Here's What Happened

Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 4.7% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $32.19 and last traded at $31.45. Approximately 49,927 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 484,471 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on PRDO shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Perdoceo Education from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Barrington Research upped their price objective on Perdoceo Education from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday.

Perdoceo Education Stock Down 2.2%

The company has a current ratio of 4.84, a quick ratio of 5.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a PE ratio of 14.72, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.85.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $213.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $207.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. Perdoceo Education's revenue for the quarter was up 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Perdoceo Education Co. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Perdoceo Education Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 1st will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Perdoceo Education's payout ratio is 23.01%.

Insider Activity

In other Perdoceo Education news, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 38,984 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.66, for a total transaction of $961,345.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 644,047 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,882,199.02. This represents a 5.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ashish R. Ghia sold 6,236 shares of Perdoceo Education stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $155,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 252,130 shares in the company, valued at $6,303,250. This represents a 2.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 147,116 shares of company stock valued at $3,895,709 in the last 90 days. 2.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRDO. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of Perdoceo Education in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Perdoceo Education by 227.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in Perdoceo Education by 223.6% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,793 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,239 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 47.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,696 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Perdoceo Education by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,875 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 1,355 shares during the period. 93.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Perdoceo Education

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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