Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on STRA. Barrington Research reissued an outperform rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Thursday, September 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Strategic Education from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Strategic Education presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $132.25.

Strategic Education Stock Up 0.6 %

Strategic Education stock opened at $88.73 on Friday. Strategic Education has a fifty-two week low of $76.94 and a fifty-two week high of $123.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $95.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.56.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $312.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.16 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 9.84%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Strategic Education will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Viet D. Dinh bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $95.59 per share, with a total value of $477,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,913,711.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Strategic Education

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STRA. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Strategic Education during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Strategic Education during the second quarter worth about $36,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 318 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Strategic Education in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in Strategic Education during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Strategic Education Company 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.