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

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

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on STRA. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Strategic Education from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Strategic Education from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America upped their price objective on Strategic Education from $104.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Barrington Research upped their price objective on Strategic Education from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Strategic Education from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $133.50.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

NASDAQ STRA opened at $117.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $102.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.62. Strategic Education has a twelve month low of $64.53 and a twelve month high of $121.29.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The health services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.51. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 6.78% and a net margin of 8.70%. The firm had revenue of $290.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $274.02 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Strategic Education will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is 56.87%.

Insider Transactions at Strategic Education

In other news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $356,262.35. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 71,770 shares in the company, valued at $6,886,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Strategic Education news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $356,262.35. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 71,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,886,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.99, for a total value of $1,230,591.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 161,359 shares in the company, valued at $15,488,850.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STRA. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Strategic Education by 320.0% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,155 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $990,000 after purchasing an additional 10,023 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Strategic Education during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,338,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Strategic Education by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 11,676 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $879,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Strategic Education by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,787 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Strategic Education by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 31,626 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,380,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Strategic Education Company Profile

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.