Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $80.15, but opened at $88.00. Strategic Education shares last traded at $82.29, with a volume of 27,374 shares changing hands.

The health services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.29. Strategic Education had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 7.61%.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STRA has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Strategic Education from $114.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael A. Mcrobbie bought 600 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $81.80 per share, for a total transaction of $49,080.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $501,843. The trade was a 10.84 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 31,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.83, for a total value of $3,116,374.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 140,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,723,690.23. The trade was a 18.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,332 shares of company stock worth $3,825,169 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Strategic Education

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of STRA. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Strategic Education by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,793,685 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $260,986,000 after purchasing an additional 45,421 shares during the period. Marshfield Associates raised its position in Strategic Education by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 1,836,491 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $171,565,000 after acquiring an additional 6,869 shares in the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Strategic Education by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,258,680 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $117,586,000 after acquiring an additional 20,456 shares during the period. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. grew its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 618,286 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $57,760,000 after purchasing an additional 70,743 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 589,053 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $55,029,000 after purchasing an additional 34,608 shares in the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $83.72 and its 200-day moving average is $91.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.58.

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.