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

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on STRA. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Strategic Education from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Strategic Education presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $132.25.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:STRA opened at $92.72 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $98.16 and a 200 day moving average of $105.74. The company has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Strategic Education has a 52 week low of $74.43 and a 52 week high of $123.62.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The health services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $312.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.16 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 9.84%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Strategic Education will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Strategic Education news, Director Viet D. Dinh purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $95.59 per share, with a total value of $477,950.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 20,020 shares in the company, valued at $1,913,711.80. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Strategic Education

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STRA. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Strategic Education in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Strategic Education in the second quarter valued at $36,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Strategic Education by 2,650.0% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 330 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Strategic Education in the second quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in Strategic Education in the second quarter valued at $38,000. 93.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.