Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barrington Research set a $105.00 target price on Strategic Education in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Strategic Education from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research cut Strategic Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.33.

Strategic Education Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:STRA opened at $82.00 on Friday. Strategic Education has a 12 month low of $69.70 and a 12 month high of $89.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $79.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.18.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released 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). The company had revenue of $321.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $327.55 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 8.98%. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.54 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Strategic Education will post 7.21 EPS for the current year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.00%.

Insider Activity at Strategic Education

In related 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 in the company, valued at $5,215,600. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bastion Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 409.3% in the fourth quarter. Bastion Asset Management Inc. now owns 71,209 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $5,644,000 after purchasing an additional 57,228 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Strategic Education by 302.6% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 63,667 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $5,106,000 after buying an additional 47,853 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in Strategic Education by 568.8% during the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 36,765 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,050,000 after buying an additional 31,268 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Strategic Education by 62.9% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 100,212 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $8,314,000 after buying an additional 38,681 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Strategic Education in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,059,000. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Strategic Education

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.