Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Receives Outperform Rating from Barrington Research

Barrington Research reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $105.00 target price on the health services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.33.

Strategic Education Price Performance

STRA stock opened at $83.48 on Tuesday. Strategic Education has a 1-year low of $72.25 and a 1-year high of $104.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $81.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.51. The firm has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.36, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.67.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The health services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $321.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $322.84 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 7.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Strategic Education will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.90%.

Insider Transactions at Strategic Education

In related news, Director G Thomas Waite III sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.69, for a total value of $57,183.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,926 shares in the company, valued at $1,300,994.94. This represents a 4.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson bought 1,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $81.50 per share, with a total value of $154,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 104,136 shares in the company, valued at $8,487,084. This represents a 1.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Strategic Education

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MSH Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Strategic Education by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. MSH Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,314 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $963,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Strategic Education by 54.3% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 395 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Strategic Education by 85.2% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 387 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Significant Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Strategic Education by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Significant Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,876 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Strategic Education by 148.9% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 331 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. 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.