Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED) Downgraded by Morgan Stanley to Equal Weight

Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $28.00 price objective on the stock.

PXED has been the topic of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Phoenix Education Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. B. Riley Financial downgraded Phoenix Education Partners from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $44.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings lowered Phoenix Education Partners from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Phoenix Education Partners from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Phoenix Education Partners to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Phoenix Education Partners currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.67.

Phoenix Education Partners Stock Performance

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

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Phoenix Education Partners news, insider John Woods sold 19,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 9th. The stock was 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. This represents a 23.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,703 shares of company stock valued at $534,904. Corporate insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Phoenix Education Partners

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Phoenix Education Partners during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Phoenix Education Partners in the second quarter valued at approximately $64,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in Phoenix Education Partners during the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Phoenix Education Partners during the second quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Phoenix Education Partners during the second quarter valued at approximately $191,000.

Key Phoenix Education Partners News

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

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.