Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) Stock Price Down 4.4% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Perdoceo Education's stock price fell by 4.4%, closing at $28.38, following a decline in trading volume of 20% compared to its average.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.15 per share, up from $0.13, representing a 2.1% yield on an annualized basis.
• Recent analyst activity included a downgrade from Wall Street Zen, moving from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating, while Barrington Research maintained an "outperform" rating with a $40 price target.

Perdoceo Education Corporation (NASDAQ:PRDO - Get Free Report) fell 4.4% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $28.40 and last traded at $28.38. 475,933 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 20% from the average session volume of 591,453 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PRDO shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Perdoceo Education from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Perdoceo Education in a report on Friday, August 1st.

Perdoceo Education Stock Up 0.8%

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $31.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.56. The company has a current ratio of 4.27, a quick ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.87.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Perdoceo Education had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 20.09%. The business had revenue of $209.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $206.92 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. Perdoceo Education's quarterly revenue was up 25.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Perdoceo Education Corporation will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Perdoceo Education Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.15 dividend. 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 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Perdoceo Education's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP David C. Czeszewski sold 30,892 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.66, for a total value of $978,040.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 92,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,916,804.14. The trade was a 25.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Julia A. Leeman sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.07, for a total transaction of $160,350.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 29,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $951,741.39. This trade represents a 14.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 131,474 shares of company stock valued at $4,157,836. Insiders own 2.11% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Perdoceo Education

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,095 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Perdoceo Education in the 1st quarter valued at $464,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Perdoceo Education by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 327,431 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,245,000 after acquiring an additional 8,468 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in shares of Perdoceo Education by 212.6% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 62,026 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,562,000 after acquiring an additional 42,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Calamos Advisors LLC bought a new position in Perdoceo Education in the first quarter valued at about $437,000. 93.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.