Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on STRA. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.25.

Strategic Education Stock Up 0.6 %

Strategic Education stock opened at $88.73 on Friday. Strategic Education has a fifty-two week low of $76.94 and a fifty-two week high of $123.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.57. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.35. The stock has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a PE ratio of 21.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Viet D. Dinh acquired 5,000 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $95.59 per share, with a total value of $477,950.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 20,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,913,711.80. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Strategic Education

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Strategic Education during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 2,650.0% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 330 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Strategic Education in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in Strategic Education in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.