Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Hits New 52-Week High After Dividend Announcement

Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $87.86 and last traded at $87.62, with a volume of 724567 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.39.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on STRA. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Strategic Education from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research lowered Strategic Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Barrington Research set a $105.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Strategic Education presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.33.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of 13.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $79.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.18.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The health services provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.04). Strategic Education had a return on equity of 8.98% and a net margin of 10.46%.The firm had revenue of $321.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $327.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Strategic Education Inc. will post 7.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christa Hokenson sold 2,000 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $160,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 65,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,215,600. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 3.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Strategic Education

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 18.2% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 22,748 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,743,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 18.5% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 74,749 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $6,201,000 after buying an additional 11,671 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the first quarter worth about $1,232,000. Finally, Wellington Grp LLC boosted its position in Strategic Education by 9.1% during the first quarter. Wellington Grp LLC now owns 6,657 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $552,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Strategic Education Company Profile

Strategic Education, Inc is a publicly traded higher education services holding company headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. Through its primary operating subsidiaries, Strayer University and Capella University, the company delivers degree programs and professional development opportunities to working adults. Its offerings span undergraduate and graduate degrees, certificates, continuing education, and workforce training in fields such as business, technology, health services, education, and public administration.

Strayer University, with a network of physical campuses across the United States complemented by an online platform, provides associate’s through doctoral degrees designed to accommodate non-traditional students.