Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. TheStreet raised Strategic Education from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Strategic Education from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Strategic Education from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday. Barrington Research lifted their target price on Strategic Education from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Strategic Education from $104.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $131.75.

Strategic Education Trading Up 3.4 %

Strategic Education stock opened at $121.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.49. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $101.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.50. Strategic Education has a 52 week low of $64.53 and a 52 week high of $121.29.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The health services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.51. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 6.78% and a net margin of 8.70%. The business had revenue of $290.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $274.02 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Strategic Education will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is 56.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Strategic Education

In other Strategic Education news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.99, for a total transaction of $1,230,591.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 161,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,488,850.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $356,262.35. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 161,359 shares in the company, valued at $15,488,850.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of STRA. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its position in 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 worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Strategic Education by 118,000.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,181 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Strategic Education in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $234,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Strategic Education in the 4th quarter worth approximately $236,000. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.