Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

PRDO has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Perdoceo Education in a research note on Tuesday. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Perdoceo Education in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.00.

Perdoceo Education Stock Down 7.2%

PRDO opened at $33.52 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $34.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.58. The company has a quick ratio of 5.03, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.85. Perdoceo Education has a 52 week low of $24.45 and a 52 week high of $38.50.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $211.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $209.95 million. Perdoceo Education had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 18.90%.The firm’s revenue was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. Perdoceo Education has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.830-0.850 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.970-3.120 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Perdoceo Education will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Perdoceo Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Perdoceo Education’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.90%.

Insider Transactions at Perdoceo Education

In related news, CFO Ashish R. Ghia sold 11,089 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.00, for a total value of $410,293.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 144,602 shares in the company, valued at $5,350,274. This represents a 7.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP David C. Czeszewski sold 36,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.81, for a total value of $1,188,542.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 68,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,788.75. This represents a 34.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 206,476 shares of company stock worth $7,273,879. 2.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Perdoceo Education

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PRDO. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Perdoceo Education during the 1st quarter valued at $1,894,000. Skylands Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Perdoceo Education during the 1st quarter valued at $3,033,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 10,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 1,719 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Perdoceo Education during the 1st quarter valued at $997,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Perdoceo Education during the 1st quarter valued at $9,043,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.46% of the company’s stock.

About Perdoceo Education

Perdoceo Education Corporation (NASDAQ: PRDO) is a for-profit postsecondary education provider offering certificate, associate, bachelor’s and master’s degree programs. The company operates primarily through two brand platforms—Colorado Technical University and American InterContinental University—delivering career-focused education both on campus and online. These programs span fields such as business, information technology, healthcare and criminal justice, targeting working adults seeking to advance or pivot their careers.

With headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois, Perdoceo serves students across the United States and internationally through its online offerings.