Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Perdoceo Education Corporation (NASDAQ:PRDO) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 492,764 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 7% from the previous session’s volume of 532,460 shares.The stock last traded at $34.05 and had previously closed at $34.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Perdoceo Education in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Perdoceo Education in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Perdoceo Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.00.

Perdoceo Education Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $32.59 and a 200-day moving average of $32.36. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 5.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.89.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.05. Perdoceo Education had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 18.90%.The business had revenue of $211.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $209.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Perdoceo Education has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.830-0.850 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.970-3.120 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Perdoceo Education Corporation will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Perdoceo Education Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. Perdoceo Education’s payout ratio is presently 24.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Perdoceo Education

In other news, SVP David C. Czeszewski sold 36,225 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.81, for a total value of $1,188,542.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 68,875 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,788.75. This represents a 34.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 11,346 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $397,110.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 432,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,132,880. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 87,571 shares of company stock worth $2,980,052 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Perdoceo Education by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Perdoceo Education by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 56,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after buying an additional 1,235 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Perdoceo Education by 49.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,547,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,964,000 after acquiring an additional 513,599 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 117.5% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 267,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,731,000 after acquiring an additional 144,395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in Perdoceo Education by 7.0% during the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 15,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033 shares during the period. 93.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Perdoceo Education

Perdoceo Education Corporation (NASDAQ: PRDO) is a for-profit postsecondary education provider offering certificate, associate, bachelor’s and master’s degree programs. The company operates primarily through two brand platforms—Colorado Technical University and American InterContinental University—delivering career-focused education both on campus and online. These programs span fields such as business, information technology, healthcare and criminal justice, targeting working adults seeking to advance or pivot their careers.

With headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois, Perdoceo serves students across the United States and internationally through its online offerings.