Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $88.6667.

STRA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Strategic Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st.

Strategic Education Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STRA opened at $82.78 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.50. Strategic Education has a 1-year low of $69.70 and a 1-year high of $87.38. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $78.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.36.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $329.81 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 10.21% and a return on equity of 8.78%. Strategic Education’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.40%.

Insider Transactions at Strategic Education

In other Strategic Education news, Director Michael Thawley purchased 665 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $72.71 per share, for a total transaction of $48,352.15. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 12,154 shares in the company, valued at $883,717.34. This represents a 5.79% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Christa Hokenson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 65,195 shares in the company, valued at $5,215,600. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in STRA. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 3.1% during the first 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 buying an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 40.2% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 43,433 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $3,647,000 after acquiring an additional 12,444 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Strategic Education by 192.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,162 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Strategic Education by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 24,657 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,099,000 after acquiring an additional 4,118 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Strategic Education during the 2nd quarter worth about $246,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

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.