The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Makes New Investment in Strategic Education Inc. $STRA

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 10,139 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $777,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 1.4% in the third quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 9,367 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $806,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,538 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $364,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Strategic Education by 88.5% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 294 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Strategic Education by 154.2% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 333 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Strategic Education Price Performance

NASDAQ STRA opened at $81.59 on Friday. Strategic Education Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.70 and a fifty-two week high of $89.73. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $81.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.24. The firm has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.49.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The health services provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.04). Strategic Education had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 8.98%. The company had revenue of $321.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $327.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.54 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Strategic Education Inc. will post 7.23 EPS for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on STRA shares. Truist Financial upped their target price on Strategic Education from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Barrington Research set a $105.00 price target on Strategic Education in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Strategic Education from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.33.

Strategic Education Company Profile

Strategic Education, Inc is a publicly traded higher education services holding company headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. Through its primary operating subsidiaries, Strayer University and Capella University, the company delivers degree programs and professional development opportunities to working adults. Its offerings span undergraduate and graduate degrees, certificates, continuing education, and workforce training in fields such as business, technology, health services, education, and public administration.

Strayer University, with a network of physical campuses across the United States complemented by an online platform, provides associate’s through doctoral degrees designed to accommodate non-traditional students.