Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Position in Stride, Inc. $LRN

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp dramatically increased its stake in Stride, Inc. by 18,660.7% in Q1, buying 54,116 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 54,406 shares worth about $4.8 million.
• Several other institutional investors also boosted their positions in Stride, and institutional ownership remains very high at 98.24% of the company’s stock.
• Analysts are mixed on the stock: the consensus rating is Hold with a target price of $109.75, while Stride’s latest earnings beat expectations with $2.30 EPS and revenue growth of 2.7% year over year.

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN - Free Report) by 18,660.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 54,406 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 54,116 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp owned 0.13% of Stride worth $4,797,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LRN. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Stride by 67.3% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 28,547 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,611,000 after buying an additional 11,481 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Stride by 80.9% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,124 shares of the company's stock worth $648,000 after buying an additional 2,291 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Stride by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,202 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,303,000 after buying an additional 2,008 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Stride by 31.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 134,455 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,009,000 after purchasing an additional 32,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Stride by 62.7% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 340 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on LRN shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Stride in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stride in a research report on Monday, June 15th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Stride in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Stride in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Stride currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.75.

Stride Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LRN opened at $87.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 6.21 and a quick ratio of 6.14. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $89.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.03. Stride, Inc. has a 1-year low of $60.61 and a 1-year high of $171.17. The company has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.10.

Stride (NYSE:LRN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.09. Stride had a return on equity of 25.20% and a net margin of 12.15%.The company had revenue of $629.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $629.69 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Stride, Inc. will post 8.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Stride

Stride, Inc NYSE: LRN is a technology-driven education company that designs and delivers online learning solutions for students and adult learners. Through long-term partnerships with state-authorized public school districts, Stride operates virtual academies that serve K-12 students across the United States. The company's blended-learning model combines digital curriculum, live teaching support and data analytics to personalize instruction and monitor student progress.

In addition to its K-12 offerings, Stride provides a portfolio of career and workforce readiness programs under its Stride Career Prep division.

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