Truist Financial Boosts Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Price Target to $145.00

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) had its price objective hoisted by Truist Financial from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the health services provider’s stock.

STRA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Strategic Education from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. 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 report on Thursday. 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. TheStreet raised shares of Strategic Education from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, March 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $131.75.

Strategic Education Stock Up 3.4 %

STRA opened at $121.06 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.36. Strategic Education has a 52 week low of $64.53 and a 52 week high of $121.29. The company has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The health services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.51. Strategic Education had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 6.78%. The business had revenue of $290.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $274.02 million. Analysts forecast that Strategic Education will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is currently 56.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Strategic Education news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $356,262.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 71,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,886,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.99, for a total transaction of $1,230,591.80. Following the transaction, 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Strategic Education

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of STRA. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new position in Strategic Education during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $73,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Strategic Education by 27.8% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Strategic Education by 118,000.0% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,181 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 1,180 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Strategic Education during the third quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Strategic Education during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $236,000. 93.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.