You’re looking for Career Education Corporation stock and probably noticing something weird. The ticker doesn't look right, or the name on the screen says "Perdoceo" instead of Career Education. Basically, if you haven’t checked in since 2019, you might think the company just vanished into thin air.
It didn't. It just changed its clothes.
Back in the day, Career Education Corporation (CEC) was a massive name in the for-profit education world. They owned everything from Le Cordon Bleu to Sanford-Brown. But today, if you want to trade the stock, you’re looking at PRDO, which stands for Perdoceo Education Corporation. They officially ditched the old name on January 1, 2020. Honestly, a lot of people in the industry saw it as a "fresh coat of paint" strategy to distance the business from a mountain of legal headaches and regulatory baggage.
The Chaos That Defined the Old Days
The history of Career Education Corporation stock is a wild ride of massive peaks and gut-wrenching valleys. In the mid-2000s, for-profit colleges were the absolute "darlings of Wall Street." CEC was printing money. But under the surface, things were getting messy.
Regulators eventually started knocking. We’re talking about the SEC, the Department of Justice, and nearly 50 different state attorneys general. The accusations weren't minor. They involved things like "inflated student placement statistics"—basically claiming more graduates got jobs than actually did—to lure in more students and federal loan money.
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One of the biggest blows came around 2011. When the company admitted that placement data at several campuses had been falsified, the CEO resigned, and the stock price absolutely tanked, dropping about 48% in a single year. If you were holding the bag then, it was a nightmare.
Then there was the Le Cordon Bleu situation. CEC owned the North American campuses of that famous culinary school. While the name sounded fancy and elite, the reality for many students was massive debt for jobs that paid minimum wage in a kitchen. Eventually, CEC just shut down all those campuses because they couldn't make the math work with new federal "gainful employment" rules.
Why Perdoceo (PRDO) is a Different Animal
So, what is Career Education Corporation stock now? It’s Perdoceo Education (PRDO). They’ve slimmed down significantly. Instead of a dozens of struggling brands, they’ve consolidated around a few "heavy hitters" that actually make money.
- Colorado Technical University (CTU): This is their big online engine. It focuses on business, tech, and nursing.
- American InterContinental University (AIU): Another online-heavy school targeting adult learners.
- University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences: A more recent addition that focuses on high-demand fields like physical and occupational therapy.
Financially, the company is in a much "cleaner" spot than it was a decade ago. As of early 2026, the stock has been trading in the $31 to $32 range. It’s got a market cap of around $2 billion. Honestly, it’s a boring business now compared to the high-drama years, and for investors, boring is usually better.
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But don't think they've escaped the spotlight entirely. Even as recently as late 2025, short-sellers like Bleecker Street have taken aim at the company, alleging "ghost student fraud." The company denies these things, of course, but it shows that the for-profit education sector always has a target on its back.
Is the Stock Actually a Buy?
If you're looking at the numbers right now, they look surprisingly decent. The P/E ratio is hovering around 12 or 13, which is actually lower than many other companies in the consumer services sector. They even pay a dividend now—around 1.9%—which was unthinkable during their legal crisis years.
Most analysts covering the stock are surprisingly bullish. We're seeing "Buy" ratings from firms like Barrington Research, with price targets pushing toward $35 or even $40. They see the company as a cash-flow machine that has successfully navigated the regulatory gauntlet.
However, there is a massive "but" here.
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The for-profit education industry is incredibly sensitive to who is sitting in the White House and the Department of Education. When regulations tighten up, these stocks get crushed. When things loosen up, they fly. It’s less about how many students are learning and more about how much of their revenue comes from federal Title IV funding (the 90/10 rule).
Actionable Insights for Investors
If you are still holding old certificates or looking to jump into the current iteration of Career Education Corporation stock, here is the ground truth:
- Stop looking for CECO. That ticker is dead. Use PRDO for all your research and trading.
- Watch the 90/10 Rule. This is the law that says for-profit schools can't get more than 90% of their revenue from federal student aid. If Perdoceo gets close to that limit, the stock will get volatile fast.
- Monitor Enrollment Trends. The "busy adult" market is getting crowded. With more traditional universities offering online degrees, CTU and AIU have a lot more competition than they did in 2005.
- Check the Short Interest. Because of their history, these stocks are favorite targets for short-sellers. If you see a sudden spike in short interest, there might be another regulatory headline coming.
The transition from Career Education Corporation to Perdoceo wasn't just a name change; it was a survival move. The company today is smaller, more focused, and much more profitable, but it still carries the DNA of an industry that regulators love to hate.
To get a true sense of the company’s health, you should pull their latest 10-K filing and specifically look at the "Risk Factors" section. It's usually 20+ pages of every possible way the government could shut them down, and it's the most honest reading you'll find on the stock.