Barrington Research Reaffirms Outperform Rating for Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA)

Barrington Research reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Barrington Research currently has a $135.00 price objective on the health services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on STRA. StockNews.com lowered Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 5th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Strategic Education from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Strategic Education currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.00.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STRA opened at $97.21 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $96.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.60. The stock has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.58. Strategic Education has a 52-week low of $85.11 and a 52-week high of $123.62.

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

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Strategic Education

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STRA. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Strategic Education during the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Strategic Education during the second quarter worth $107,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 332.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,426 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 1,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 12.8% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,938 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $179,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

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.