Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Trading Down 3.2% – Here’s What Happened

Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)’s stock price was down 3.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $92.01 and last traded at $92.01. Approximately 96,202 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average daily volume of 130,842 shares. The stock had previously closed at $95.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on STRA shares. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 5th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.00.

Strategic Education Trading Down 2.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $94.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.40.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The health services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.35. The firm 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Strategic Education

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in STRA. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Strategic Education by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 395 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Strategic Education by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 6,199 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Strategic Education by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,160 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Strategic Education by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 11,000 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 9.8% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,448 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Strategic Education Company Profile

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.