Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.10 EPS

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The health services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.10), Zacks reports. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 10.44%. The firm had revenue of $311.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.18 million.

Strategic Education Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of STRA stock opened at $80.53 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.34, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s fifty day moving average is $96.33 and its 200 day moving average is $94.74. Strategic Education has a twelve month low of $78.62 and a twelve month high of $123.62.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Strategic Education

In related news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 6,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.83, for a total transaction of $589,425.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,998,189.48. This trade represents a 6.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 31,855 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.83, for a total value of $3,116,374.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 140,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,723,690.23. The trade was a 18.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STRA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barrington Research dropped their price objective on Strategic Education from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Strategic Education currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.25.

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.