Pearson (NYSE:PSO) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Pearson, PLC (NYSE:PSO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $17.80 and last traded at $17.8150, with a volume of 87,359 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PSO has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Pearson from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup lowered shares of Pearson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Pearson in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Pearson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Pearson in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pearson currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Pearson Stock Up 3.8%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $16.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

Pearson Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.1103 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 137.0%. This is a drop from Pearson’s previous dividend of $0.2346. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pearson

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Pearson by 72.5% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,645,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,605,000 after purchasing an additional 691,339 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Pearson by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 512,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,734,000 after purchasing an additional 73,788 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pearson by 26.4% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 224,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,572,000 after purchasing an additional 47,023 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Pearson in the 1st quarter worth $517,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in Pearson in the 1st quarter worth $412,000. 2.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Pearson

Pearson plc is a global learning and education company headquartered in London, England. Through its assessment, qualifications, learning content and digital services businesses, Pearson supports students, educators, institutions, employers and governments throughout the education and workforce-development lifecycle.

The company provides academic and professional assessments, English-language testing, vocational and higher-education qualifications, textbooks, digital courseware and online learning platforms.