Ashish R. Ghia Sells 11,914 Shares of Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO) Stock

Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO) CFO Ashish R. Ghia sold 11,914 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.50, for a total value of $303,807.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 240,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,125,508. This represents a 4.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Perdoceo Education Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of PRDO opened at $25.43 on Friday. Perdoceo Education Co. has a 12 month low of $16.56 and a 12 month high of $29.84. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $26.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.84 and a quick ratio of 5.45. The stock has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 11.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.04.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 16.85% and a net margin of 21.66%. Equities analysts forecast that Perdoceo Education Co. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Perdoceo Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Perdoceo Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.64%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Perdoceo Education

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRDO. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Perdoceo Education by 227.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 913 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of 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. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Perdoceo Education in the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,355 shares during the last quarter. 93.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on PRDO. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Perdoceo Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barrington Research raised their target price on shares of Perdoceo Education from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th.

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.