Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Director Michael Thawley Purchases 950 Shares of Stock

Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) Director Michael Thawley bought 950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $51.42 per share, for a total transaction of $48,849.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $673,807.68. The trade was a 7.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Michael Thawley also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, November 10th, Michael Thawley purchased 940 shares of Strategic Education stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $52.68 per share, for a total transaction of $49,519.20.

Strategic Education Price Performance

Shares of STRA opened at $54.59 on Wednesday. Strategic Education Inc. has a 1-year low of $50.70 and a 1-year high of $89.73. The stock has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 321.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $77.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.71.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The health services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $325.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $326.55 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 0.74% and a return on equity of 9.13%. The business’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Strategic Education Inc. will post 7.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 30th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 30th. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is presently 1,411.76%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Strategic Education

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in STRA. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 59.8% during the third quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 4,443 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 1,663 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Portfolio Management LLC increased its position in Strategic Education by 35.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Portfolio Management LLC now owns 3,830 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Strategic Education by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 263,439 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $21,863,000 after acquiring an additional 25,658 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in Strategic Education by 16,250.0% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 6,540 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 6,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Strategic Education during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $256,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Strategic Education

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

• Positive Sentiment: Two directors reported buying shares in multiple transactions from November 6–10. Michael Thawley bought 1,890 shares and William J. Slocum bought 1,250 shares; together, their purchases totaled 3,140 shares for about $163,000. Insider purchases can signal confidence, though they do not guarantee improved business results. SEC filing for Thawley purchases SEC filing for Slocum purchases
• Neutral Sentiment: A report listed short interest at zero shares and days to cover at zero. That indicates no reported short position in the data, but the entry’s description of a “large increase” conflicts with its figures.
• Negative Sentiment: Wall Street Zen and Barrington Research moved their ratings to “Hold,” and another report says sell-side analysts now rate STRA “Hold.” The change may limit expectations for near-term upside, although the articles provide no new company-specific fundamentals. Wall Street Zen rating Barrington Research rating Sell-side analyst ratings

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on STRA. Weiss Ratings downgraded Strategic Education from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Barrington Research cut Strategic Education from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 6th. William Blair downgraded Strategic Education to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Strategic Education from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $87.00.

Strategic Education Company Profile

Strategic Education, Inc. is an education services company that provides postsecondary programs and workforce-focused learning services. Its U.S. institutions include Strayer University and Capella University, which offer undergraduate and graduate programs in fields such as business, technology, health care and education through online and campus-based instruction. Outside the United States, the company operates Torrens University Australia and other education institutions serving students in Australia and New Zealand.