Phoenix Education Partners, Inc. (NYSE:PXED) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Consensus "Hold": Six analysts average a Hold rating on PXED (1 sell, 2 hold, 3 buy) with a 1-year consensus price target of $44.00.
• Q1 earnings beat: Phoenix Education reported $0.58 EPS vs. $0.34 expected and $222.46M revenue (down 0.4% YoY), and analysts forecast $4.48 EPS for the current year.
• Dividend and valuation update: The company announced a $0.21 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.84, yield ~3.1%); shares opened at $26.80, with a 12-month range of $23.52–$47.08 and a P/E of about 8.9 (market cap ~$960M).

Phoenix Education Partners, Inc. (NYSE:PXED - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Hold" from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $44.00.

PXED has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets set a $39.00 price objective on Phoenix Education Partners in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Phoenix Education Partners in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered Phoenix Education Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, January 11th. B. Riley Financial decreased their price objective on Phoenix Education Partners from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Phoenix Education Partners from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd.

Phoenix Education Partners Trading Down 4.4%

Shares of PXED opened at $26.80 on Friday. Phoenix Education Partners has a 12 month low of $23.52 and a 12 month high of $47.08. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $29.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.01. The stock has a market cap of $959.67 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.93.

Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 7th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $222.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $219.71 million. The company's revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Phoenix Education Partners will post 4.48 EPS for the current year.

Phoenix Education Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Phoenix Education Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Phoenix Education Partners

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Phoenix Education Partners in the 4th quarter worth $44,774,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in Phoenix Education Partners in the 4th quarter worth $21,681,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Phoenix Education Partners in the 4th quarter worth $10,559,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in Phoenix Education Partners in the 4th quarter worth $7,989,000. Finally, FIL Ltd purchased a new position in Phoenix Education Partners in the 4th quarter worth $7,575,000.

About Phoenix Education Partners

Our Mission To provide access to higher education opportunities that enable students to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve their professional goals, improve the performance of their organizations and provide leadership and service to their communities. We are a mission-driven organization operating at the forefront of the rapidly evolving post-secondary education market. As one of the largest online education providers and a pioneer in our field, we benefit from the dynamic interplay between technological innovation, education, employment and economic trends.

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