Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $854,000 in Strategic Education Inc. $STRA

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 10,300 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $854,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of STRA. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 88.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 294 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 154.2% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 333 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Strategic Education by 85.2% during the 2nd 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. Sankala Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Strategic Education during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in Strategic Education by 305.3% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 616 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Strategic Education Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STRA opened at $80.98 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.83 billion, a PE ratio of 14.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.50. Strategic Education Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.70 and a 52-week high of $87.38. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $78.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.33.

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

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Strategic Education news, Director Michael Thawley acquired 665 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $72.71 per share, with a total value of $48,352.15. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $883,717.34. This trade represents a 5.79% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Christa Hokenson sold 2,000 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $160,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 65,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,215,600. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STRA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barrington Research lowered their price target on Strategic Education from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Strategic Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $95.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $87.00.

Strategic Education 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.