Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Earns Outperform Rating from Barrington Research

Barrington Research reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $120.00 price objective on the health services provider’s stock.

STRA has been the topic of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Strategic Education from $114.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th.

Strategic Education Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:STRA opened at $78.56 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $86.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.61. The company has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a PE ratio of 14.96, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.58. Strategic Education has a 1-year low of $74.28 and a 1-year high of $123.62.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The health services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $311.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.18 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 7.61%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Strategic Education will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.39%.

Insider Activity at Strategic Education

In other Strategic Education news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 31,855 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.83, for a total value of $3,116,374.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 140,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,723,690.23. This trade represents a 18.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 6,025 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.83, for a total transaction of $589,425.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,998,189.48. The trade was a 6.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 39,332 shares of company stock worth $3,825,169. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Strategic Education during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 394.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 480 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Strategic Education by 809.1% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 700 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education during the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. 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.