Hsbc Holdings PLC Raises Holdings in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 29.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,988 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,034 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Strategic Education were worth $1,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Strategic Education during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 2,650.0% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 330 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Strategic Education during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in Strategic Education in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STRA has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $132.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Viet D. Dinh purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $95.59 per share, for a total transaction of $477,950.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 20,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,913,711.80. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Strategic Education Price Performance

NASDAQ:STRA opened at $92.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $98.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.74. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 52-week low of $74.43 and a 52-week high of $123.62. The firm has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.97, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.56.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The health services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.14. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 9.84%. The business had revenue of $312.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.16 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.87%.

Strategic Education Profile

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.