Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.33 EPS

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The health services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.75 by ($0.33), FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $305.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $329.81 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 8.75% and a net margin of 9.98%.The business’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.30 EPS.

Strategic Education Trading Down 15.2%

STRA stock traded down $12.68 during trading on Thursday, reaching $70.94. 244,860 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 270,608. Strategic Education has a twelve month low of $70.79 and a twelve month high of $93.45. The company has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.70.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.28%.

Insider Transactions at Strategic Education

In other news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.37, for a total transaction of $1,070,810.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,244,907.52. The trade was a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Lizette Benedi Herraiz sold 7,598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 $4,683,203.14. The trade was a 11.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 62,420 shares of company stock worth $4,843,218. Insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Strategic Education

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 62,355.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,467,702 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $117,710,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465,352 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased 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 period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Strategic Education by 115.4% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 216,117 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $18,588,000 after purchasing an additional 115,801 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Strategic Education in the second quarter worth about $9,615,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in Strategic Education by 4,003.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 103,738 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $8,923,000 after purchasing an additional 101,210 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on STRA shares. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Truist Financial downgraded Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $95.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Zacks Research raised Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.67.

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.