Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com 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.

Separately, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Strategic Education from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $132.25.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

STRA stock opened at $93.23 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $101.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.25. Strategic Education has a 12-month low of $74.43 and a 12-month high of $123.62. The firm has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.56.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The health services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $312.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.16 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 9.84%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Strategic Education will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.87%.

Insider Activity at Strategic Education

In related news, Director Viet D. Dinh purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $95.59 per share, for a total transaction of $477,950.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,020 shares in the company, valued at $1,913,711.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Strategic Education

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in shares of Strategic Education by 83.0% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 11,817 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 5,358 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in Strategic Education during the second quarter worth about $1,357,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Strategic Education in the first quarter valued at approximately $738,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 103.6% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 253,390 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $23,406,000 after purchasing an additional 128,961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beck Bode LLC acquired a new position in Strategic Education during the second quarter worth about $1,028,000. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

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.