Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED) Cut to “Neutral” at B. Riley Financial

B. Riley Financial downgraded shares of Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $25.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $44.00.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Phoenix Education Partners to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Phoenix Education Partners from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Phoenix Education Partners from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Zacks Research upgraded Phoenix Education Partners from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Phoenix Education Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Phoenix Education Partners currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.67.

Phoenix Education Partners Price Performance

Shares of PXED stock opened at $19.66 on Wednesday. Phoenix Education Partners has a 12-month low of $19.55 and a 12-month high of $35.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $25.53 and a 200-day moving average of $28.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $708.60 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.58.

Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.07. Phoenix Education Partners had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 60.06%. The business had revenue of $260.68 million during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Phoenix Education Partners will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

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 dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. This is a positive change from Phoenix Education Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. Phoenix Education Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.68%.

Insider Transactions at Phoenix Education Partners

In other news, insider John Woods sold 19,453 shares of Phoenix Education Partners stock in a transaction on Friday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.89, for a total value of $503,638.17. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 62,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,622,836.98. The trade was a 23.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 three months, insiders sold 20,703 shares of company stock valued at $534,904. 5.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Phoenix Education Partners

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Phoenix Education Partners in the second quarter valued at approximately $12,620,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Phoenix Education Partners by 48.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 743,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,411,000 after purchasing an additional 241,997 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Phoenix Education Partners in the second quarter valued at about $2,398,000. Bastion Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Phoenix Education Partners during the first quarter worth approximately $2,085,000. Finally, Curated Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Phoenix Education Partners in the third quarter valued at about $1,653,000.

About Phoenix Education Partners

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.