Empowered Funds LLC Acquires Shares of 79,710 Strategic Education Inc. $STRA

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC acquired 79,710 shares of Strategic Education worth approximately $6.1 million, while institutional investors collectively own 93.27% of the company.
• Analysts remain generally cautious, with two Buy ratings and three Hold ratings; the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $95.33.
• Strategic Education reported quarterly EPS of $1.76 and revenue of $321.6 million, both below analyst expectations, though revenue increased 4.9% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, representing a 2.8% yield.

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 79,710 shares of the health services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,107,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.36% of Strategic Education as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Strategic Education during the second quarter worth about $291,189,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Strategic Education by 62,355.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,467,702 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $117,710,000 after buying an additional 1,465,352 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $16,778,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 188.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 245,296 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $20,882,000 after acquiring an additional 160,303 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 115.4% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 216,117 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $18,588,000 after acquiring an additional 115,801 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Strategic Education from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Strategic Education from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research lowered Strategic Education from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Barrington Research set a $105.00 price target on Strategic Education in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Strategic Education has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.33.

Insider Activity at Strategic Education

In other news, insider Christa Hokenson sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

STRA stock opened at $84.64 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.11, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $80.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.07. Strategic Education Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.70 and a 52-week high of $89.73.

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

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Strategic Education's dividend payout ratio is 40.00%.

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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