BlackRock Inc. Purchases New Position in Strategic Education Inc. $STRA

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 3.8 million shares of Strategic Education in the second quarter, valued at approximately $291.2 million, giving it a 17.11% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 93.27% of the company.
• Strategic Education reported quarterly revenue of $321.6 million and earnings of $1.76 per share, slightly below analyst expectations, although revenue increased 4.9% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, equivalent to $2.40 annually and a 2.8% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $95.33, compared with the stock’s reported price of $85.31.

BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,800,430 shares of the health services provider's stock, valued at approximately $291,189,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 17.11% of Strategic Education as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Strategic Education by 3.1% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,195 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $1,360,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Strategic Education by 40.2% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 43,433 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $3,647,000 after purchasing an additional 12,444 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 192.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,162 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 24,657 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $2,099,000 after purchasing an additional 4,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Strategic Education during the 2nd quarter valued at about $246,000. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

Shares of STRA stock opened at $85.31 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.49. Strategic Education Inc. has a one year low of $69.70 and a one year high of $89.73. The company's 50-day moving average is $80.58 and its 200 day moving average is $80.00.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The health services provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $321.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $327.55 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 8.98% and a net margin of 10.46%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Strategic Education Inc. will post 7.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Strategic Education's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STRA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Strategic Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Barrington Research set a $105.00 price target on Strategic Education in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Friday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $95.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Strategic Education

In other news, insider Christa Hokenson sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $160,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 65,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,215,600. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 3.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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