Barrington Research Has Lowered Expectations for Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Stock Price

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) had its target price reduced by Barrington Research from $135.00 to $120.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the health services provider’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $122.25.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

Shares of Strategic Education stock opened at $79.80 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $96.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.83. Strategic Education has a one year low of $79.37 and a one year high of $123.62.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The health services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $311.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.18 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 10.44%. Sell-side analysts predict that Strategic Education will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is currently 45.71%.

Insider Activity at Strategic Education

In other Strategic Education news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 6,025 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.83, for a total value of $589,425.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,998,189.48. This represents a 6.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 31,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.83, for a total value of $3,116,374.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 140,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,723,690.23. This represents a 18.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Strategic Education

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 43,755 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,050,000 after buying an additional 7,203 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 76.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 399,144 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $36,941,000 after buying an additional 173,225 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 120,628 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $11,164,000 after buying an additional 12,437 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Strategic Education in the 3rd quarter worth $702,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 313,727 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $29,035,000 after buying an additional 20,389 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is currently 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.