Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED) Posts Earnings Results

Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $260.68 million during the quarter. Phoenix Education Partners had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 60.06%.

Here are the key takeaways from Phoenix Education Partners’ conference call:

• Fourth-quarter results improved: Revenue rose 1.3% to $260.7 million, Average Total Degreed Enrollment increased 2.8%, and Adjusted EBITDA grew 8.6% to $61.5 million, lifting the margin to 23.6%.
• Employer-affiliated enrollment remains a key growth engine, rising nearly 13% in fiscal 2026 and reaching 36% of quarterly enrollment; healthcare enrollment also grew approximately 13% year over year.
• AI-driven changes to online search are pressuring new B2C student starts. Management expects the impact to weigh more heavily on fiscal 2027 revenue, which is guided to $970 million-$1 billion, with Adjusted EBITDA of $225 million-$240 million versus $249 million in fiscal 2026.
• Management views fiscal 2027 as a transition year and expects enrollment trends to improve as employer partnerships, new healthcare/business/AI programs, targeted marketing, and AI-enabled conversion tools gain traction, with a return to growth targeted for fiscal 2028.
• Phoenix ended fiscal 2026 with $331.7 million in cash, restricted cash, and marketable securities and no debt, while generating $196.3 million in operating cash flow; the board also approved a 10% dividend increase to $0.23 per share.

Phoenix Education Partners Stock Down 3.6%

PXED stock opened at $22.54 on Wednesday. Phoenix Education Partners has a twelve month low of $21.20 and a twelve month high of $35.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.84. The company has a market capitalization of $812.64 million and a P/E ratio of 10.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Phoenix Education Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This is an increase from Phoenix Education Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Phoenix Education Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Phoenix Education Partners

In other news, insider John Woods sold 19,453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.89, for a total value of $503,638.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 62,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,622,836.98. This represents a 23.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,703 shares of company stock worth $534,904. 5.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Phoenix Education Partners

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings 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 valued at $24,411,000 after purchasing an additional 241,997 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Phoenix Education Partners during the second quarter worth $12,620,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Phoenix Education Partners in the second quarter worth $2,398,000. Bastion Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Phoenix Education Partners during the 1st quarter worth $2,085,000. Finally, Curated Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Phoenix Education Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,653,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on PXED. Zacks Research raised Phoenix Education Partners from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. B. Riley Financial lowered shares of Phoenix Education Partners from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Phoenix Education Partners from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Phoenix Education Partners from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $28.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Phoenix Education Partners to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Phoenix Education Partners currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.40.

Phoenix Education Partners News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Phoenix Education Partners raised its quarterly dividend 9.5%, to $0.23 per share from $0.21. That amounts to $0.92 annualized, or a 3.9% yield at the cited share price; the dividend is payable November 27 to shareholders of record November 13. Dividend announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Fiscal Q4 EPS was $1.07, up from $1.04 a year earlier, while revenue was $260.68 million. Q4 earnings report
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly EPS matched analyst expectations, so the result did not deliver an earnings surprise. Fiscal 2026 results
• Negative Sentiment: B. Riley downgraded PXED from Buy to Neutral, potentially limiting investor enthusiasm. Its $25 price target still implies about 6.4% upside from $23.50, but the rating change is a less favorable signal. B. Riley downgrade

Phoenix Education Partners Company Profile

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.