Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the four ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $126.00.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on STRA. StockNews.com lowered Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 5th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

Institutional Trading of Strategic Education

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in STRA. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Strategic Education during the second quarter worth $36,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Strategic Education during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in Strategic Education during the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 46.3% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 395 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Strategic Education Trading Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ STRA opened at $92.81 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $94.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.57. Strategic Education has a 52 week low of $85.11 and a 52 week high of $123.62. The stock has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.58.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The health services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $305.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $301.62 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 10.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.97 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Strategic Education will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is currently 45.71%.

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.