Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barrington Research restated an outperform rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $132.25.

Strategic Education Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ STRA opened at $92.55 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.70. The stock has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.56. Strategic Education has a 12-month low of $74.43 and a 12-month high of $123.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The health services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $312.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.16 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 7.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Strategic Education will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.59%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Viet D. Dinh bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $95.59 per share, for a total transaction of $477,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,020 shares in the company, valued at $1,913,711.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Strategic Education

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of STRA. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the second quarter worth about $36,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 2,650.0% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 330 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the second quarter worth about $38,000. 93.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Strategic Education

Strategic Education, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides education services through campus-based and online post-secondary education, and programs to develop job-ready skills. The company operates through U.S. Higher Education, Australia/New Zealand, and Education Technology Services segments. It operates Strayer University that offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business, criminal justice, education, health services, information technology, and public administration at physical campuses located in the eastern United States, as well as through online; non-degree web and mobile application development courses through Hackbright Academy and Devmountain; and MBA online through its Jack Welch Management Institute.