Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.33 EPS

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The health services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.33, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $319.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.40 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 7.52%. Strategic Education’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

Shares of STRA stock traded up $0.71 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $76.02. The company had a trading volume of 161,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 167,866. Strategic Education has a 12 month low of $72.25 and a 12 month high of $104.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $81.54 and its 200 day moving average is $82.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.80, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.63.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is presently 49.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Strategic Education

In related news, Director G Thomas Waite III sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.69, for a total value of $57,183.00. Following the sale, the director owned 15,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,300,994.94. The trade was a 4.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson purchased 1,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $81.50 per share, for a total transaction of $154,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 104,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,487,084. This trade represents a 1.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Strategic Education

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 85.2% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 387 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in Strategic Education by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 9,238 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $786,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 21,668 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,845,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Strategic Education by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,195 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,360,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 3.9% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 15,073 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,283,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.33.

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.