Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Receives Outperform Rating from Barrington Research

Barrington Research reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $105.00 price objective on the health services provider’s stock.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.33.

Strategic Education Trading Down 0.8%

STRA stock opened at $84.90 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $81.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.50. Strategic Education has a 1 year low of $72.25 and a 1 year high of $104.51. The stock has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of 17.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.57.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The health services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $319.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.40 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 9.08%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Strategic Education will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Strategic Education

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Strategic Education by 188.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 245,296 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $20,882,000 after acquiring an additional 160,303 shares during the last quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 155.7% in the 3rd quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 234,719 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $20,188,000 after purchasing an additional 142,915 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Strategic Education by 115.4% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 216,117 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $18,588,000 after purchasing an additional 115,801 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Strategic Education in the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,615,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Strategic Education by 1,939.3% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 114,954 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $9,786,000 after purchasing an additional 109,317 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Strategic Education

Strategic Education, Inc is a publicly traded higher education services holding company headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. Through its primary operating subsidiaries, Strayer University and Capella University, the company delivers degree programs and professional development opportunities to working adults. Its offerings span undergraduate and graduate degrees, certificates, continuing education, and workforce training in fields such as business, technology, health services, education, and public administration.

Strayer University, with a network of physical campuses across the United States complemented by an online platform, provides associate’s through doctoral degrees designed to accommodate non-traditional students.