Short Interest in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) Drops By 18.5%

Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) saw a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 364,200 shares, a decline of 18.5% from the March 15th total of 447,100 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 88,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Strategic Education

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of STRA. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Strategic Education by 6,377.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 178,182 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $16,459,000 after purchasing an additional 175,431 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its holdings in Strategic Education by 88.4% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 26,938 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,027,000 after buying an additional 12,636 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP boosted its position in Strategic Education by 152.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 9,965 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $750,000 after buying an additional 6,024 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 3.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 11,676 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $879,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 17,924 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,656,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Strategic Education Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of STRA stock opened at $98.45 on Monday. Strategic Education has a 1-year low of $64.53 and a 1-year high of $111.95. The firm has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a PE ratio of 33.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $100.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.63. 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 (NASDAQ:STRA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The health services provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.34. The firm 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 quarter last year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Strategic Education will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. TheStreet upgraded shares of Strategic Education from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $104.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.50.

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.