Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Stock: Insider William Slocum Purchases 250 Shares

Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) Director William Slocum acquired 250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $51.00 per share, with a total value of $12,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,065 shares in the company, valued at $462,315. This trade represents a 2.84% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

Strategic Education stock opened at $54.30 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 319.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.51. Strategic Education Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $50.70 and a fifty-two week high of $89.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $77.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.56.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The health services provider reported $1.72 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $325.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $326.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Strategic Education Inc. will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Strategic Education

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STRA. Group One Trading LLC acquired a new position in Strategic Education during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 4,443 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Portfolio Management LLC increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 35.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Portfolio Management LLC now owns 3,830 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position 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 valued at $21,863,000 after purchasing an additional 25,658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 16,250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 6,540 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on STRA. Wall Street Zen lowered Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Strategic Education from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $95.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Strategic Education from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barrington Research cut shares of Strategic Education from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $87.00.

Trending Headlines about Strategic Education

Here are a few of the latest headlines about STRA:

• Positive Sentiment: Two directors bought a combined 3,140 shares in transactions from November 6–10, for roughly $163,000. Insider buying can signal confidence, though it is not a guarantee of improved performance. Director share purchases
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded STRA from “hold” to “strong sell,” while Wall Street Zen cut its rating from “buy” to “hold.” These ratings add to a cautious analyst backdrop. Zacks Research ratings Wall Street Zen downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: The company’s latest reported quarter also missed consensus: earnings were $1.72 per share versus estimates of $1.95, and revenue was slightly below forecasts. Revenue nevertheless grew 1.6% year over year.

About Strategic Education

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.