Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Phoenix Education Partners, Inc. (NYSE:PXED) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $30.79, but opened at $28.54. Phoenix Education Partners shares last traded at $29.0950, with a volume of 164,439 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PXED. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Phoenix Education Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Phoenix Education Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. B. Riley Financial decreased their target price on shares of Phoenix Education Partners from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Phoenix Education Partners from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Phoenix Education Partners in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.00.

Phoenix Education Partners Stock Down 7.9%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion and a P/E ratio of 11.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $29.41.

Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 7th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $222.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $219.71 million. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Phoenix Education Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Phoenix Education Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.71%.

Institutional Trading of Phoenix Education Partners

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PXED. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Phoenix Education Partners during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey purchased a new position in Phoenix Education Partners during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Phoenix Education Partners during the 4th quarter valued at about $89,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Phoenix Education Partners during the 4th quarter valued at about $92,000. Finally, Sandia Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Phoenix Education Partners during the 4th quarter valued at about $161,000.

Phoenix Education Partners Company Profile

Our Mission To provide access to higher education opportunities that enable students to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve their professional goals, improve the performance of their organizations and provide leadership and service to their communities. We are a mission-driven organization operating at the forefront of the rapidly evolving post-secondary education market. As one of the largest online education providers and a pioneer in our field, we benefit from the dynamic interplay between technological innovation, education, employment and economic trends.