Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Friday morning.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday. 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 research note on Friday, March 1st. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $104.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Strategic Education from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Barrington Research increased their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Strategic Education has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $131.75.

Strategic Education Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:STRA opened at $121.06 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $101.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.36. The stock has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.50. Strategic Education has a fifty-two week low of $64.53 and a fifty-two week high of $121.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The health services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $290.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $274.02 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 6.78%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Strategic Education will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.87%.

Insider Transactions at Strategic Education

In other news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $356,262.35. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 71,770 shares in the company, valued at $6,886,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 161,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,488,850.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $356,262.35. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 71,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,886,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Strategic Education

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 6,377.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 178,182 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $16,459,000 after purchasing an additional 175,431 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 88.4% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 26,938 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,027,000 after purchasing an additional 12,636 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 152.9% during the third quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 9,965 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $750,000 after purchasing an additional 6,024 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 3.1% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 11,676 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $879,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 17,924 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Strategic Education Company Profile

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.