Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Hits New 52-Week High Following Dividend Announcement

Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $115.70 and last traded at $112.50, with a volume of 60628 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $100.65.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is currently 82.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STRA has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barrington Research increased their price objective on shares of Strategic Education from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial raised shares of Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America increased their price objective 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. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Strategic Education from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Strategic Education presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.75.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.57. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $101.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.90.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The health services provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $302.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.48 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 6.16% and a return on equity of 5.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Strategic Education

In other news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 161,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,488,850.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of Strategic Education 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 161,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,488,850.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $356,262.35. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Strategic Education

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Strategic Education during the 4th quarter worth about $73,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 118,000.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,181 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the third quarter worth approximately $234,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the fourth quarter worth approximately $236,000. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by 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.