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Perdoceo Education
(NASDAQ:PRDO)
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Rating:79Outperform
Price Target:
$38.00
▲(13.57% Upside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:10/21/26
PRDO scores well primarily due to strong financial quality (high margins and low leverage) and a positive earnings outlook with raised FY2026 guidance. Valuation is supportive (P/E ~12 with a dividend), while technicals suggest only moderate momentum. The main constraints on the score are cash-flow volatility and execution/regulatory risk around the South University acquisition.
Positive Factors
High profitability
Perdoceo’s high gross and operating margins indicate a scalable education model with substantial earnings conversion. This profitability provides resources to fund student support, technology, program development, acquisitions, and shareholder returns while offering resilience across normal enrollment fluctuations.
Negative Factors
Regulatory exposure
The tuition model depends substantially on student financial-aid access, making regulatory and lending-policy changes an enduring business risk. Changes to Grad PLUS, graduate loan limits, or private financing could affect prospective-student demand, enrollment conversion, and revenue growth.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
High profitability
Perdoceo’s high gross and operating margins indicate a scalable education model with substantial earnings conversion. This profitability provides resources to fund student support, technology, program development, acquisitions, and shareholder returns while offering resilience across normal enrollment fluctuations.
Read all positive factors
Perdoceo Education (PRDO) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$2.12B
Dividend Yield1.83%
Average Volume (3M)650.28K
Price to Earnings (P/E)12.2
Beta (1Y)0.54
Revenue Growth11.68%
EPS Growth18.98%
CountryUS
Employees6,000
SectorConsumer Defensive
Sector Strength42
IndustryEducation & Training Services
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)2.79
Shares Outstanding62,577,057
10 Day Avg. Volume460,119
30 Day Avg. Volume650,283
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio1.21
Price to Book (P/B)1.95
Price to Sales (P/S)2.25
P/FCF Ratio8.77
Enterprise Value/Market Cap0.64
Enterprise Value/Revenue1.58
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit2.22
Enterprise Value/Ebitda4.93
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$44.00Price Target Upside31.50% Upside
Rating ConsensusModerate Buy
Number of Analyst Covering1
EPS Forecast (FY)2.92
Revenue Forecast (FY)$854.50M
Perdoceo Education Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Perdoceo Education Corporation (PRDO) is a provider of higher education services in the United States, delivering its programs through online, campus-based, and hybrid learning models. The company's operations are divided into two main segments: C...
How the Company Makes Money
Perdoceo Education makes money primarily by charging tuition and fees to students enrolled at its institutions (principally CTU and AIU). The company’s revenue model is driven by (1) student enrollments and retention (which determine how many stud...
Perdoceo Education Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Aug 06, 2026
(Q2-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Nov 05, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call was strongly positive overall. Management reported broad operating growth, higher earnings, strong retention and prospective-student interest, significant Saint Augustine momentum, increased shareholder returns, substantial liquidity, and an improved full-year outlook. The main challenges were AIU System and Trident enrollment declines, lower AIU revenue, higher CTU legal fees, expected CTU enrollment comparison pressure in the second half, and slightly lower operating cash flow.Positive Updates
Year-to-Date Operating Income and Revenue Growth
Academic institutions performed ahead of expectations in the first half of 2026, with year-to-date operating income growth of 14.4% supported by revenue growth of 3%.
Negative Updates
AIU System Enrollment Decline
AIU System total student enrollment decreased 1%, primarily because of lower enrollment at Trident University. Management expects enrollment to be affected by academic-session calendar variability, with strong growth expected in the third quarter, lower enrollment in the fourth quarter, and a rebound in the first quarter of 2027.
Read all updates
Q2-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Year-to-Date Operating Income and Revenue Growth
Academic institutions performed ahead of expectations in the first half of 2026, with year-to-date operating income growth of 14.4% supported by revenue growth of 3%.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
For full year 2026, the company expects its effective tax rate to be between 23% and 24%, cash paid for income taxes to be in the range of 2.32 thousand% of pretax income, and capital expenditures to be approximately 1% of revenues; full year 2020 adjusted operating income is expected to range between $258 million and $263 million, adjusted earnings per diluted share are expected to be between $3.10 and $3.16, a 19.9% increase at the midpoint, and full year revenue is expected to increase versus 2025. At Saint Augustine, the company expects revenue and total student enrollments growth each quarter, resulting in double digit adjusted operating income growth for the full year; at AIU System, it expects operating income to grow for the full year. For the third quarter of 2020, adjusted operating income is expected to be in the range of $64 million to $65 million versus $61 million in the prior year quarter, with adjusted earnings per diluted share to range between $0.73 and $0.74 per diluted share versus $0.65. Future quarterly dividend payments are expected to be paid out of free cash flows for the relevant year, subject to board approval and the company's available retained earnings, financial condition, and other relevant factors, and quarterly dividend payments are expected to remain an integral and growing component of the balance allocation capital allocation strategy.Perdoceo Education Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
84
Very Positive
Balance Sheet
90
Very Positive
Cash Flow
72
Positive
| Breakdown | TTM | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 858.61M | 846.10M | 681.26M | 710.00M | 695.21M | 693.03M |
| Gross Profit | 610.92M | 606.93M | 560.40M | 579.68M | 578.49M | 584.29M |
| EBITDA | 275.39M | 264.93M | 216.70M | 209.41M | 154.40M | 166.75M |
| Net Income | 177.12M | 159.91M | 147.59M | 147.65M | 95.87M | 109.64M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 1.33B | 1.27B | 1.24B | 1.01B | 957.37M | 847.43M |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 1.47B | 643.49M | 568.92M | 603.14M | 508.72M | 494.19M |
| Total Debt | 56.59M | 105.09M | 131.54M | 27.05M | 33.84M | 44.95M |
| Total Liabilities | 301.08M | 299.80M | 277.50M | 165.90M | 231.52M | 197.32M |
| Stockholders Equity | 1.03B | 972.41M | 959.54M | 841.42M | 725.85M | 650.11M |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 217.98M | 216.66M | 156.97M | 105.61M | 135.57M | 180.66M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 225.35M | 225.24M | 161.59M | 112.03M | 148.19M | 191.12M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -112.14M | -53.64M | -107.78M | -88.51M | -326.75M | 54.32M |
| Financing Cash Flow | -143.18M | -171.07M | -41.08M | -23.38M | -27.73M | -29.95M |
Perdoceo Education Technical Analysis
Positive
33.46
Price Trends
32.67
Positive
32.76
Positive
33.13
Positive
Market Momentum
0.40
Negative
59.72
Neutral
48.10
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For PRDO, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 33.46 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 32.70, above the 50-day MA of 32.67, and above the 200-day MA of 33.13, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 0.40 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 59.72 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 48.10 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for PRDO.
Perdoceo Education Risk Analysis
Perdoceo Education disclosed 34 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Perdoceo Education reported the most risks in the "Legal & Regulatory" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Perdoceo Education Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (62)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
80 Outperform | $1.82B | 13.29 | 8.19% | 2.94% | 3.53% | 23.97% | |
79 Outperform | $2.12B | 12.15 | 17.70% | 1.83% | 11.68% | 18.98% | |
72 Outperform | $894.70M | 10.74 | 29.02% | 2.54% | 2.39% | -34.68% | |
71 Outperform | $892.57M | 19.43 | 15.30% | ― | 3.64% | 129.52% | |
62 Neutral | $20.33B | 14.63 | -3.31% | 3.23% | 1.93% | -12.26% | |
59 Neutral | $687.72M | 29.30 | 11.59% | 6.19% | 22.02% | 57.98% | |
53 Neutral | $1.20B | 34.80 | 10.17% | 3.36% | 9.15% | -46.11% |
* Consumer Defensive Sector Average
PRDO
Perdoceo Education
33.90
-2.41
-6.63%
APEI
American Public Education
48.77
13.50
38.28%
LINC
Lincoln Edu
21.68
-1.08
-4.75%
STRA
Strategic Education
81.74
0.28
0.35%
UTI
Universal Technical Institute
21.85
-12.17
-35.77%
PXED
Phoenix Education Partners, Inc.
24.82
-11.28
-31.26%
Perdoceo Education Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyStock BuybackDividendsFinancial DisclosuresM&A TransactionsRegulatory Filings and Compliance
Perdoceo to Acquire South University in Cash Deal
Positive
Sep 14, 2026
Perdoceo Education Corporation, a provider of postsecondary education through brands such as Colorado Technical University, the American InterContinental University System and the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, is expanding its f...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.