Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED) Shares Down 5.5% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Phoenix Education Partners shares fell 5.5% to about $24.59 in midday trading, with volume roughly 99% below the average session volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $41 average price target, although some firms recently reduced targets and Weiss Ratings downgraded the stock to “sell.”
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.43 EPS versus a $1.28 estimate on $271.8 million in revenue; several institutional investors also increased or initiated positions in the stock.

Phoenix Education Partners, Inc. (NYSE:PXED - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 5.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $24.64 and last traded at $24.5860. Approximately 1,071 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 99% from the average session volume of 102,321 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.01.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PXED shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Phoenix Education Partners from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Thursday. B. Riley Financial decreased their price target on shares of Phoenix Education Partners from $54.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Phoenix Education Partners to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Phoenix Education Partners from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Phoenix Education Partners from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.00.

Phoenix Education Partners Stock Down 1.1%

The company has a market cap of $868.16 million and a P/E ratio of 11.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $27.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.31.

Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $271.80 million during the quarter. Phoenix Education Partners had a return on equity of 60.06% and a net margin of 8.18%. On average, research analysts expect that Phoenix Education Partners, Inc. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Phoenix Education Partners

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PXED. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Phoenix Education Partners by 48.3% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 743,112 shares of the company's stock worth $24,411,000 after purchasing an additional 241,997 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Phoenix Education Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Phoenix Education Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,085,000. Man Group plc bought a new position in shares of Phoenix Education Partners during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $486,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of Phoenix Education Partners during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $281,000.

Phoenix Education Partners Company Profile

Phoenix Education Partners, Inc NYSE: PXED is an education company focused on providing higher education and career-oriented learning opportunities for working adults. Its principal institution is University of Phoenix, which offers programs designed to accommodate students balancing education with professional and personal responsibilities.

Through University of Phoenix, the company provides online and flexible learning options in areas such as business, education, health care, information technology, nursing, and criminal justice.

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