Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Upgraded at Truist Financial

Truist Financial upgraded shares of Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $125.00 price target on the health services provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $110.00.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on STRA. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Strategic Education from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. TheStreet upgraded Strategic Education from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Strategic Education from $104.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Barrington Research reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Strategic Education from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Strategic Education presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $124.25.

Strategic Education Price Performance

NASDAQ:STRA opened at $98.11 on Wednesday. Strategic Education has a 52 week low of $64.53 and a 52 week high of $111.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $100.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.16.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The health services provider reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.34. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 5.52% and a net margin of 6.16%. The company had revenue of $302.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $297.48 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Strategic Education will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $356,262.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 71,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,886,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $356,262.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 71,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,886,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 161,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,488,850.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Strategic Education in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 140.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 656 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the period. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Strategic Education in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Strategic Education in the 4th quarter valued at about $73,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.