StockNews.com Upgrades Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

Separately, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.00.

Strategic Education Price Performance

Shares of Strategic Education stock opened at $97.94 on Wednesday. Strategic Education has a one year low of $85.11 and a one year high of $123.62. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.59.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Strategic Education by 10,374.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 199,538 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $18,467,000 after purchasing an additional 197,633 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 76.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 399,144 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $36,941,000 after acquiring an additional 173,225 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Strategic Education during the 4th quarter valued at about $15,715,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Strategic Education by 207.3% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 175,141 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $16,362,000 after purchasing an additional 118,151 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Strategic Education by 202.3% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 114,765 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $10,720,000 after purchasing an additional 76,804 shares during the period. 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.