Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Price Target Lowered to $86.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) had its price objective reduced by BMO Capital Markets from $95.00 to $86.00 in a research note released on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the health services provider’s stock.

STRA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barrington Research dropped their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Strategic Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.00.

Strategic Education Price Performance

Shares of STRA opened at $75.96 on Monday. Strategic Education has a 1-year low of $69.70 and a 1-year high of $93.45. The stock has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.54.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The health services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by ($0.09). Strategic Education had a net margin of 10.21% and a return on equity of 8.78%. The company had revenue of $305.93 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $329.81 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. Strategic Education’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Strategic Education will post 7.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Lizette Benedi Herraiz sold 7,598 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.97, for a total value of $607,612.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 58,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,683,203.14. This trade represents a 11.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 62,420 shares of company stock valued at $4,843,218. 3.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 9,367 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $806,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,538 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 88.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 294 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 85.2% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 387 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 154.2% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 333 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.