Wall Street Zen Downgrades Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) to Buy

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Monday, January 26th. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.67.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

STRA opened at $81.46 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $80.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.86. Strategic Education has a one year low of $72.17 and a one year high of $93.45. The stock has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.56.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The health services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.27. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 8.75% and a net margin of 9.98%.The firm had revenue of $311.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $322.29 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. Strategic Education’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Strategic Education will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Strategic Education

In other Strategic Education news, Chairman Robert S. Silberman acquired 718 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $80.82 per share, with a total value of $58,028.76. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman directly owned 319,870 shares in the company, valued at $25,851,893.40. This represents a 0.22% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Lizette Benedi Herraiz sold 7,598 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.97, for a total transaction of $607,612.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 58,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,683,203.14. This trade represents a 11.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 62,420 shares of company stock valued at $4,843,218. 3.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,524,317 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $129,765,000 after purchasing an additional 48,486 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in Strategic Education by 62,355.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,467,702 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $117,710,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465,352 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Strategic Education by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 881,089 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $70,663,000 after purchasing an additional 6,737 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Strategic Education by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 609,040 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $48,853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 351,969 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $28,228,000 after buying an additional 12,244 shares during the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is owned by 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.