Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. William Blair cut shares of Strategic Education to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings lowered Strategic Education from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Strategic Education from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $95.00 to $66.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Barrington Research downgraded Strategic Education from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Strategic Education has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $87.00.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:STRA opened at $52.20 on Friday. Strategic Education has a 52 week low of $51.01 and a 52 week high of $89.73. The company has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of 307.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s fifty day moving average is $78.93 and its 200-day moving average is $80.04.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The health services provider reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $325.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.55 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 8.98%. Strategic Education’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Strategic Education will post 7.23 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 29,041 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,256,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd lifted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 4,676 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Strategic Education by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 13,946 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,083,000 after buying an additional 932 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Strategic Education by 47.3% during the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 4,833 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Strategic Education by 2,597.1% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,778 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 2,675 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Strategic Education

Here are the key news stories impacting Strategic Education this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strategic Education declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, equivalent to $2.40 annually and a reported yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is November 30, and payment is scheduled for December 7.
• Neutral Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue rose 1.6% year over year to $325.1 million, supported by Education Technology Services and higher U.S. Higher Education revenue per student, but was slightly below analyst expectations. Strategic Education Q3 results
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted expectations were not met: Q3 EPS of $1.72 fell short of consensus estimates around $1.92–$1.95. Coverage also highlighted a $134 million Torrens writedown, a significant drag on the results and a likely source of investor concern. Strategic Education Q3 earnings and writedown
• Negative Sentiment: Barrington Research lowered its rating on STRA from “outperform” to “market perform,” signaling less optimism about the shares. Barrington Research ratings
• Negative Sentiment: Ademi LLP said it is investigating potential securities-fraud claims involving the company. This is an investigation announcement, not a finding of wrongdoing, but it adds a legal and reputational uncertainty for investors. Ademi LLP investigation announcement

About Strategic Education

Strategic Education, Inc (NASDAQ: STRA) is an education services company that provides postsecondary programs through Strayer University and Capella University. Its institutions serve working adults and other nontraditional students through online and campus-based learning options.

Strayer University offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs, professional certificates and other career-focused educational programs in areas such as business, information technology, health services and criminal justice.