Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) Short Interest Update

Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 364,200 shares, a drop of 18.5% from the March 15th total of 447,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 88,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Strategic Education

In related news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.99, for a total transaction of $1,230,591.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 161,359 shares in the company, valued at $15,488,850.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Strategic Education news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $356,262.35. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 71,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,886,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.99, for a total value of $1,230,591.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 161,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,488,850.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STRA. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Strategic Education by 140.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 656 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Strategic Education in the 2nd quarter valued at about $58,000. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Strategic Education during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new position in Strategic Education during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $73,000. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on STRA. Truist Financial increased their price target on Strategic Education from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Strategic Education from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $104.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Strategic Education presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.50.

Strategic Education Trading Down 2.0 %

STRA stock opened at $98.45 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $100.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Strategic Education has a twelve month low of $64.53 and a twelve month high of $111.95.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The health services provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.34. Strategic Education had a net margin of 6.16% and a return on equity of 5.52%. The company had revenue of $302.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.48 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Strategic Education will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is 82.76%.

About Strategic Education

Strategic Education, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides education services through campus-based and online post-secondary education, and programs to develop job-ready skills. The company operates through U.S. Higher Education, Australia/New Zealand, and Education Technology Services segments. It operates Strayer University that offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business, criminal justice, education, health services, information technology, and public administration at physical campuses located in the eastern United States, as well as through online; non-degree web and mobile application development courses through Hackbright Academy and Devmountain; and MBA online through its Jack Welch Management Institute.