Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED) Price Target Cut to $23.00 by Analysts at Truist Financial

Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED) had its price objective reduced by Truist Financial from $38.00 to $23.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on PXED. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Phoenix Education Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. B. Riley Financial lowered shares of Phoenix Education Partners from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $25.00 in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Phoenix Education Partners to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered Phoenix Education Partners from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Phoenix Education Partners from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Phoenix Education Partners presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.67.

Phoenix Education Partners Price Performance

Shares of PXED stock opened at $21.62 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $25.87 and its 200 day moving average is $28.80. Phoenix Education Partners has a 1-year low of $21.25 and a 1-year high of $35.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The company has a market cap of $779.44 million and a P/E ratio of 5.24.

Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07. Phoenix Education Partners had a net margin of 8.74% and a return on equity of 57.86%. The business had revenue of $260.68 million for the quarter. Research analysts predict that Phoenix Education Partners will post 4.55 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 given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. This is an increase from Phoenix Education Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Phoenix Education Partners’s payout ratio is presently 39.07%.

Insider Activity at Phoenix Education Partners

In related news, insider John Woods sold 19,453 shares of Phoenix Education Partners stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.89, for a total transaction of $503,638.17. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 62,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,622,836.98. The trade was a 23.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 sold a total of 20,703 shares of company stock worth $534,904 over the last three months. Insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Phoenix Education Partners

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in 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 buying an additional 241,997 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Phoenix Education Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $12,620,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Phoenix Education Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,398,000. Bastion Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Phoenix Education Partners in the 1st quarter valued at $2,085,000. Finally, Curated Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Phoenix Education Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,653,000.

Phoenix Education Partners News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Phoenix raised its quarterly dividend 9.5%, from $0.21 to $0.23 per share, equal to $0.92 annualized and a 3.9% yield at the cited share price. Shareholders of record November 13 are scheduled to be paid November 27. Company results and announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Fiscal Q4 EPS was $1.07, in line with consensus and up from $1.04 a year earlier. Revenue was $260.68 million. Meeting estimates provides little earnings surprise to drive the shares. Q4 earnings report
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple firms cut their ratings or outlooks: Barrington moved to market perform, Morgan Stanley to equal weight, and B. Riley to neutral, lowering its target from $44 to $25. Truist cut its target from $38 to $23 and assigned a hold rating. The broad shift to more cautious recommendations and substantial target cuts may pressure investor sentiment, despite targets remaining above the cited $21.62 share price. 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.