Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Share Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $80.47 and traded as high as $85.83. Strategic Education shares last traded at $84.08, with a volume of 249,423 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on STRA shares. Barrington Research reduced their target price 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 lowered Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Strategic Education from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Strategic Education from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.67.

Strategic Education Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.47.

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

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Strategic Education

In other news, insider Christa Hokenson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $160,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 65,195 shares in the company, valued at $5,215,600. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Michael Thawley purchased 665 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Strategic Education

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in Strategic Education by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 22,748 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,743,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 74,749 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $6,201,000 after acquiring an additional 11,671 shares during the period. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Strategic Education in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Strategic Education in the first quarter valued at about $1,232,000. Finally, Wellington Grp LLC increased its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 9.1% during the first quarter. Wellington Grp LLC now owns 6,657 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $552,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.