BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Stock Price

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) had its target price lifted by BMO Capital Markets from $86.00 to $91.00 in a research note published on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the health services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Strategic Education from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Strategic Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Barrington Research lowered their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Strategic Education currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.67.

Strategic Education Stock Up 1.9%

STRA stock opened at $83.78 on Monday. Strategic Education has a twelve month low of $69.70 and a twelve month high of $87.38. The company has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.76, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $78.36 and a 200-day moving average of $80.34.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The health services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.51 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $305.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $329.81 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 10.21%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Strategic Education will post 7.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is 42.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Christa Hokenson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $160,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 65,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,215,600. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Michael Thawley acquired 665 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $72.71 per share, for a total transaction of $48,352.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,717.34. The trade was a 5.79% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STRA. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Strategic Education by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 9,367 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $806,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Strategic Education by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,538 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Strategic Education by 88.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 294 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Strategic Education by 85.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 387 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Strategic Education by 154.2% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 333 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.