Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) Given New $35.00 Price Target at Barrington Research

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) had its price target raised by Barrington Research from $32.00 to $35.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Perdoceo Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th.

Perdoceo Education Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PRDO opened at $27.11 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.07. Perdoceo Education has a fifty-two week low of $16.12 and a fifty-two week high of $29.84. The company’s 50-day moving average is $27.39 and its 200 day moving average is $24.72.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $176.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.12 million. Perdoceo Education had a net margin of 20.42% and a return on equity of 15.58%. As a group, research analysts predict that Perdoceo Education will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Perdoceo Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Perdoceo Education’s payout ratio is 26.13%.

Insider Transactions at Perdoceo Education

In other news, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 12,472 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.29, for a total value of $327,888.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 615,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,186,674.13. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP John Robert Kline sold 12,148 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total transaction of $313,296.92. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 130,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,363,144.95. The trade was a 8.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Perdoceo Education

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of Perdoceo Education in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,134,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Perdoceo Education by 70.0% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 17,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Perdoceo Education in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,253,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Perdoceo Education by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 7,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Perdoceo Education by 44.7% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 19,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $521,000 after purchasing an additional 6,078 shares during the last quarter. 93.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.