BMO Capital Markets Lowers Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Price Target to $86.00

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets cut its price target on Strategic Education from $95 to $86 while keeping an "outperform" rating, implying roughly a 12.9% upside from the current price.
• The company’s latest quarter missed expectations, reporting EPS of $1.42 versus a $1.51 consensus and revenue of $305.9M versus $329.8M expected.
• Shares traded up about 3.6% to $76.17; analysts' average rating is "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $87.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $95.00 to $86.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the health services provider's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price objective would suggest a potential upside of 12.91% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on STRA. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Strategic Education from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research raised shares of Strategic Education from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Barrington Research dropped their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Strategic Education currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.00.

Strategic Education Stock Up 3.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:STRA traded up $2.64 during trading on Monday, hitting $76.17. 97,801 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 280,264. The company has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $80.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.57. Strategic Education has a 52-week low of $69.70 and a 52-week high of $93.45.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The health services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.51 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $305.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $329.81 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 10.21% and a return on equity of 8.78%. Strategic Education's revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Strategic Education will post 7.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Strategic Education

In other Strategic Education news, Director Michael Thawley bought 665 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $72.71 per share, with a total value of $48,352.15. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 12,154 shares in the company, valued at $883,717.34. This trade represents a 5.79% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Lizette Benedi Herraiz sold 2,982 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.88, for a total transaction of $238,202.16. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 55,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,439,730.40. This trade represents a 5.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 62,420 shares of company stock worth $4,843,218 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Strategic Education

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STRA. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Strategic Education during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 88.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 294 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 154.2% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 333 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 85.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 387 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sankala Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Strategic Education during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company's stock.

About Strategic Education

Strategic Education, Inc is a publicly traded higher education services holding company headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. Through its primary operating subsidiaries, Strayer University and Capella University, the company delivers degree programs and professional development opportunities to working adults. Its offerings span undergraduate and graduate degrees, certificates, continuing education, and workforce training in fields such as business, technology, health services, education, and public administration.

Strayer University, with a network of physical campuses across the United States complemented by an online platform, provides associate’s through doctoral degrees designed to accommodate non-traditional students.

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