Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) Stock Rated “Hold” by Sell-Side Analysts

Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $87.00.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on STRA shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered Strategic Education from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $66.00 in a report on Friday. William Blair lowered shares of Strategic Education to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Strategic Education from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Barrington Research downgraded shares of Strategic Education from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 6th.

Key Stories Impacting Strategic Education

Here are the key news stories impacting Strategic Education this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Two directors reported buying shares in multiple transactions from November 6–10. Michael Thawley bought 1,890 shares and William J. Slocum bought 1,250 shares; together, their purchases totaled 3,140 shares for about $163,000. Insider purchases can signal confidence, though they do not guarantee improved business results. SEC filing for Thawley purchases SEC filing for Slocum purchases
• Neutral Sentiment: A report listed short interest at zero shares and days to cover at zero. That indicates no reported short position in the data, but the entry’s description of a “large increase” conflicts with its figures.
• Negative Sentiment: Wall Street Zen and Barrington Research moved their ratings to “Hold,” and another report says sell-side analysts now rate STRA “Hold.” The change may limit expectations for near-term upside, although the articles provide no new company-specific fundamentals. Wall Street Zen rating Barrington Research rating Sell-side analyst ratings

Strategic Education Stock Up 3.1%

STRA opened at $54.59 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $77.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.71. Strategic Education has a 52 week low of $50.70 and a 52 week high of $89.73. The firm has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 321.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.51.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The health services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.23). Strategic Education had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 0.74%. The business had revenue of $325.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $326.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Strategic Education will post 7.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 30th. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is presently 1,411.76%.

Insider Activity

In other Strategic Education news, Director William J. Slocum acquired 1,000 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $52.00 per share, for a total transaction of $52,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $458,380. This represents a 12.80% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael Thawley acquired 950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $51.42 per share, with a total value of $48,849.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 13,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $673,807.68. This represents a 7.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 3,140 shares of company stock valued at $163,118. 3.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Strategic Education

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Strategic Education in the second quarter worth approximately $291,189,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,458,740 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $121,017,000 after purchasing an additional 7,346 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 30.6% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 454,509 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $37,706,000 after purchasing an additional 106,487 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC raised its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 26.6% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 275,342 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $21,097,000 after buying an additional 57,824 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 263,439 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $21,863,000 after buying an additional 25,658 shares in the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Strategic Education Company Profile

Strategic Education, Inc. is an education services company that provides postsecondary programs and workforce-focused learning services. Its U.S. institutions include Strayer University and Capella University, which offer undergraduate and graduate programs in fields such as business, technology, health care and education through online and campus-based instruction. Outside the United States, the company operates Torrens University Australia and other education institutions serving students in Australia and New Zealand.