Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Phoenix Education Partners, Inc. (NYSE:PXED – Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low on Monday. The company traded as low as $23.41 and last traded at $23.7140, with a volume of 35,235 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.93.

Key Stories Impacting Phoenix Education Partners

Here are the key news stories impacting Phoenix Education Partners this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: The company raised its quarterly dividend 9.5%, from $0.21 to $0.23 per share. The annualized payout is $0.92, or about a 3.9% yield; the ex-dividend date is November 13. Dividend information
  • Neutral Sentiment: Fiscal Q4 adjusted earnings were $1.07 per share, matching consensus and up from $1.04 a year earlier. Revenue was $260.68 million. The in-line result provides little immediate earnings surprise. Q4 earnings report
  • Negative Sentiment: Multiple firms took a more cautious view of PXED. Truist cut its target from $38 to $23 and assigned a hold rating; B. Riley lowered its target from $44 to $25 and downgraded the stock to neutral. Barrington Research moved from outperform to market perform, while Morgan Stanley shifted from overweight to equal weight. The cluster of downgrades and substantial target reductions likely weighed on sentiment, despite some targets remaining above the current share price. B. Riley downgrade

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PXED shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Phoenix Education Partners from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings cut Phoenix Education Partners from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Phoenix Education Partners from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Phoenix Education Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, B. Riley Financial cut Phoenix Education Partners from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $44.00 to $25.00 in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Phoenix Education Partners has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.67.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on PXED

Phoenix Education Partners Stock Down 7.6%

The business’s fifty day moving average is $25.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.80. The stock has a market cap of $779.44 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07. The company had revenue of $260.68 million for the quarter. Phoenix Education Partners had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 60.06%. Equities analysts forecast that Phoenix Education Partners, Inc. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Phoenix Education Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a boost from Phoenix Education Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Phoenix Education Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.07%.

Insider Activity at Phoenix Education Partners

In related news, insider John Woods sold 19,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.89, for a total transaction of $503,638.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 62,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,622,836.98. The trade was a 23.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 20,703 shares of company stock worth $534,904 in the last three months. Insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Phoenix Education Partners

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Wyoming increased its holdings in shares of Phoenix Education Partners by 446.3% in the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 12,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 10,604 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in Phoenix Education Partners during the third quarter worth about $51,000. Curated Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Phoenix Education Partners during the third quarter worth about $1,653,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Phoenix Education Partners by 48.3% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 743,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,411,000 after buying an additional 241,997 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Phoenix Education Partners in the second quarter valued at about $26,000.

About Phoenix Education Partners

(Get Free Report)

Phoenix Education Partners, Inc is a higher education company focused on serving working adults and other nontraditional students. Through the University of Phoenix, its principal operating institution, the company provides career-oriented undergraduate and graduate degree programs, professional certificates, and other educational offerings.

The University of Phoenix primarily delivers instruction through online learning, with programs designed to offer flexible scheduling for students balancing education with employment and other responsibilities.

Further Reading

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