Public Sector Pension Investment Board Increases Stake in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,700 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.21% of Strategic Education worth $4,785,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of STRA. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Strategic Education during the second quarter valued at $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Strategic Education during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in Strategic Education by 2,650.0% during the 2nd 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. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Strategic Education Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STRA opened at $98.81 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.82, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.94. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.11 and a 12 month high of $123.62.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The health services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $305.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $301.62 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 7.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is 45.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on STRA. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 5th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.00.

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.