Yousif Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Yousif Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,964 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 185 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Strategic Education were worth $753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Strategic Education by 1,337.4% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,495 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $794,000 after acquiring an additional 7,904 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 71,384 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $6,669,000 after purchasing an additional 1,413 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its holdings in Strategic Education by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 22,129 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,067,000 after purchasing an additional 1,776 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Strategic Education by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 124,428 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $11,624,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in Strategic Education in the fourth quarter worth about $222,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

Strategic Education stock opened at $84.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of 17.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $85.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.63. Strategic Education Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $74.28 and a fifty-two week high of $121.60.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The health services provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.29. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 9.14%. The company had revenue of $303.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $300.67 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. Strategic Education’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Strategic Education Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is currently 51.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STRA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Strategic Education from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $105.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Thursday, April 24th.

Insider Activity at Strategic Education

In related news, Director Robert R. Grusky sold 1,494 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.27, for a total transaction of $119,923.38. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $910,984.23. This trade represents a 11.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.