Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the four brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $126.00.

STRA has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Strategic Education from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Strategic Education from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 5th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Strategic Education

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 19.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 43,755 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,050,000 after acquiring an additional 7,203 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 51.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 57,345 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $5,307,000 after acquiring an additional 19,483 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Strategic Education during the third quarter valued at approximately $323,000. Versor Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 111.8% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 4,113 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 2,171 shares during the period. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 22.5% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 20,353 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,884,000 after acquiring an additional 3,744 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Strategic Education Price Performance

NASDAQ:STRA opened at $98.51 on Friday. Strategic Education has a one year low of $85.11 and a one year high of $123.62. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a PE ratio of 20.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $90.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.07.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.28%.

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.