Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on STRA. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.33.

Strategic Education Price Performance

Strategic Education stock opened at $81.60 on Monday. Strategic Education has a 1-year low of $72.17 and a 1-year high of $93.45. The stock has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $81.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.87.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The health services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.27. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 8.75% and a net margin of 9.98%.The business had revenue of $311.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $322.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Strategic Education will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.28%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 38,840 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.35, for a total transaction of $2,926,594.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 106,332 shares in the company, valued at $8,012,116.20. The trade was a 26.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.37, for a total transaction of $1,070,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 100,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,244,907.52. The trade was a 11.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,524,317 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $129,765,000 after purchasing an additional 48,486 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Strategic Education by 62,355.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,467,702 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $117,710,000 after buying an additional 1,465,352 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 881,089 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $70,663,000 after acquiring an additional 6,737 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 610,839 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $52,007,000 after acquiring an additional 26,872 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 351,969 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $28,228,000 after acquiring an additional 12,244 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

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.