Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

STRA has been the subject of several other research reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $104.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Strategic Education from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Strategic Education has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $120.50.

Strategic Education Price Performance

Strategic Education stock opened at $103.82 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.57. Strategic Education has a 1 year low of $64.53 and a 1 year high of $111.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $100.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.12.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The health services provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $302.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $297.48 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 6.16% and a return on equity of 5.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Strategic Education will post 4.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is currently 82.76%.

Insider Transactions at Strategic Education

In other news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.99, for a total value of $1,230,591.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 161,359 shares in the company, valued at $15,488,850.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.99, for a total transaction of $1,230,591.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 161,359 shares in the company, valued at $15,488,850.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $356,262.35. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 71,770 shares in the company, valued at $6,886,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Strategic Education

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 140.3% in the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 656 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the second quarter worth about $58,000. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the fourth quarter worth about $73,000. 93.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.