Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.33 EPS

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The health services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.33, Zacks reports. Strategic Education had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 7.52%. The company had revenue of $319.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.40 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Strategic Education Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:STRA traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $76.02. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 161,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 167,866. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.54. Strategic Education has a fifty-two week low of $72.25 and a fifty-two week high of $104.51. The company has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.63.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.90%.

Insider Activity

In other Strategic Education news, Director G Thomas Waite III sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.69, for a total transaction of $57,183.00. Following the sale, the director owned 15,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,300,994.94. This represents a 4.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson bought 1,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $81.50 per share, with a total value of $154,850.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 104,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,487,084. The trade was a 1.86% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Strategic Education by 85.2% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 387 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Strategic Education by 3.9% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 9,238 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 21,668 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,845,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Strategic Education by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,195 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,360,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Strategic Education by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 15,073 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,283,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on STRA shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Monday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Strategic Education has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.33.

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.