Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $92.6667.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on STRA. Wall Street Zen raised Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Truist Financial cut Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $95.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Lizette Benedi Herraiz sold 2,982 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.88, for a total transaction of $238,202.16. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 55,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,439,730.40. This represents a 5.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.37, for a total value of $1,070,810.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 62,420 shares of company stock valued at $4,843,218 in the last quarter. 3.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Strategic Education

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 88.5% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 154.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 85.2% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Sankala Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Strategic Education Trading Up 1.6%

Strategic Education stock opened at $83.21 on Friday. Strategic Education has a 1 year low of $72.17 and a 1 year high of $93.45. The company has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.35, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50-day moving average is $80.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.78.

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

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.28%.

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.