Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Raises Stock Position in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 93.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,552 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,680 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.15% of Strategic Education worth $4,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of STRA. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Strategic Education by 46.3% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 395 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 6,199 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 1.3% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 12,984 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,352,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Strategic Education by 1.9% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 11,000 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Strategic Education by 3.2% in the first quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,651 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $797,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on STRA shares. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Strategic Education from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Strategic Education has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $132.25.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

Shares of Strategic Education stock opened at $92.72 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.56. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $74.43 and a 1 year high of $123.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $98.16 and its 200 day moving average is $105.74.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The health services provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.14. Strategic Education had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 7.47%. The firm had revenue of $312.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.16 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.87%.

Insider Activity

In other Strategic Education news, Director Viet D. Dinh acquired 5,000 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $95.59 per share, for a total transaction of $477,950.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 20,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,913,711.80. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.10% 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.