Adtalem Global Education Inc. (NYSE:ATGE) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Adtalem Global Education Inc. (NYSE:ATGE) was the target of a large decline in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 888,000 shares, a decline of 5.1% from the October 15th total of 935,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 373,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Adtalem Global Education Price Performance

ATGE opened at $87.34 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. Adtalem Global Education has a 1-year low of $43.78 and a 1-year high of $92.93. The company has a 50-day moving average of $77.12 and a 200-day moving average of $72.32. The company has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.99, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.95.

Adtalem Global Education (NYSE:ATGE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.17. Adtalem Global Education had a return on equity of 15.63% and a net margin of 10.55%. The firm had revenue of $417.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $397.48 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. Adtalem Global Education’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Adtalem Global Education will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lisa W. Wardell sold 24,637 shares of Adtalem Global Education stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.60, for a total transaction of $1,862,557.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 105,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,944,426. The trade was a 18.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Manjunath Gangadharan sold 944 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.40, for a total value of $71,177.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $355,888. This represents a 16.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 81,110 shares of company stock valued at $6,074,681 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Adtalem Global Education

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Adtalem Global Education by 81,701.2% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,330,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,725,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328,462 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in Adtalem Global Education by 2,360.6% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 644,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,973,000 after acquiring an additional 618,466 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Adtalem Global Education by 11.1% during the first quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 3,079,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,277,000 after purchasing an additional 306,699 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Adtalem Global Education by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,422,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,299,000 after purchasing an additional 100,705 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Adtalem Global Education by 511.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 78,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,950,000 after purchasing an additional 65,945 shares during the last quarter. 98.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barrington Research raised their price target on shares of Adtalem Global Education from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Adtalem Global Education from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Adtalem Global Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st.

About Adtalem Global Education

Adtalem Global Education Inc provides workforce solutions worldwide. It operates through three segments, Chamberlain, Walden, and Medical and Veterinary. The Chamberlain segment offers degree and non-degree programs in the nursing and health professions postsecondary education industry. This segment operates Chamberlain University.