Inspire Investing LLC Takes Position in Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO)

Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 30,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $818,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 38.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 85,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,904,000 after buying an additional 807 shares during the last quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 15,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 1,219 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 1,306.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 46,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 3,193 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.46% of the company’s stock.

Perdoceo Education Price Performance

Shares of Perdoceo Education stock opened at $28.31 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $26.93 and a 200 day moving average of $24.04. The firm has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.23, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.06. Perdoceo Education Co. has a 1 year low of $16.12 and a 1 year high of $29.47.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.06. Perdoceo Education had a net margin of 20.42% and a return on equity of 15.58%. The company had revenue of $169.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. Perdoceo Education’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Perdoceo Education Co. will post 2.27 EPS for the current year.

Perdoceo Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Perdoceo Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Perdoceo Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barrington Research upped their price objective on shares of Perdoceo Education from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Insider Activity at Perdoceo Education

In other news, SVP John Robert Kline sold 12,148 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total transaction of $313,296.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 130,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,363,144.95. This trade represents a 8.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Patrick W. Gross sold 3,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.74, for a total transaction of $90,916.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 69,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,862,039.90. The trade was a 4.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 58,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,541,396. 1.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Perdoceo Education 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.