Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) has earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the four brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $132.25.

Several analysts have issued reports on STRA shares. StockNews.com cut Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 5th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st.

Strategic Education Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of STRA opened at $87.48 on Monday. Strategic Education has a 52-week low of $76.94 and a 52-week high of $123.62. The stock has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of 20.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $93.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The health services provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.14. Strategic Education had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 7.47%. The company had revenue of $312.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.16 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. Strategic Education’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Strategic Education will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is currently 56.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Viet D. Dinh bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $95.59 per share, for a total transaction of $477,950.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 20,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,913,711.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Strategic Education during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Strategic Education in the second quarter valued at $36,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Strategic Education by 2,650.0% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 330 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Strategic Education during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in Strategic Education during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

About Strategic Education

Strategic Education, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides education services through campus-based and online post-secondary education, and programs to develop job-ready skills. The company operates through U.S. Higher Education, Australia/New Zealand, and Education Technology Services segments. It operates Strayer University that offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business, criminal justice, education, health services, information technology, and public administration at physical campuses located in the eastern United States, as well as through online; non-degree web and mobile application development courses through Hackbright Academy and Devmountain; and MBA online through its Jack Welch Management Institute.