Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

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

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on STRA. Barrington Research reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Strategic Education has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $132.25.

Strategic Education Stock Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ:STRA opened at $88.16 on Friday. 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 has a 50 day moving average of $94.00 and a 200-day moving average of $105.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 20.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.56. Strategic Education has a 52 week low of $76.94 and a 52 week high of $123.62.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The health services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.14. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 9.84%. The business had revenue of $312.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Strategic Education will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is currently 56.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Strategic Education

In related news, Director Viet D. Dinh acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,913,711.80. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Strategic Education

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Strategic Education by 103.6% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 253,390 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $23,406,000 after acquiring an additional 128,961 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $12,231,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 64.9% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 251,778 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $27,862,000 after purchasing an additional 99,100 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Strategic Education by 3.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,447,810 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $160,212,000 after purchasing an additional 48,462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in Strategic Education by 570.1% during the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 55,991 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $6,196,000 after buying an additional 47,635 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

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.