Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED) Rating Lowered to Market Perform at Barrington Research

Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED) was downgraded by analysts at Barrington Research from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report released on Wednesday, Briefing.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley downgraded Phoenix Education Partners from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $28.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Phoenix Education Partners from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Zacks Research raised Phoenix Education Partners from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. B. Riley Financial downgraded Phoenix Education Partners from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $44.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Phoenix Education Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.67.

Phoenix Education Partners Stock Down 7.0%

PXED traded down $1.64 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $21.75. 150,979 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 101,830. The company has a market cap of $784.09 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.12. Phoenix Education Partners has a one year low of $21.25 and a one year high of $35.90. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $26.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.91.

Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07. The firm 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Phoenix Education Partners will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Phoenix Education Partners

In other news, insider John Woods sold 19,453 shares of Phoenix Education Partners stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.89, for a total value of $503,638.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 62,682 shares in the company, valued at $1,622,836.98. This trade represents a 23.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 valued at $534,904 in the last three months. 5.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Phoenix Education Partners

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Phoenix Education Partners during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in Phoenix Education Partners in the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Phoenix Education Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Phoenix Education Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at about $78,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Phoenix Education Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at about $191,000.

More Phoenix Education Partners News

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 new annualized payout is $0.92, equivalent to a yield of about 3.9%.
• Neutral Sentiment: Fiscal fourth-quarter earnings were $1.07 per share, in line with analyst estimates and up from $1.04 a year earlier. Revenue was $260.68 million; the reported results provide no clear earnings surprise to drive the shares. Phoenix Education Partners Q4 Earnings Match Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: B. Riley downgraded PXED from Buy to Neutral and cut its price target sharply, from $44 to $25. Although the new target remains above the recent share price, the lower rating and reduced target may weigh on sentiment. B. Riley Downgrades Phoenix Education Partners to Neutral
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley also downgraded PXED, moving its rating from Overweight to Equal Weight. Its $28 price target still implies potential upside from the recent price, but the rating change signals a less bullish view. Morgan Stanley recommendations

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.