Marshfield Associates Buys 12,543 Shares of Strategic Education Inc. $STRA

Key Points

• Marshfield Associates increased its stake in Strategic Education Inc. by 0.7%, acquiring an additional 12,543 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 1.85 million shares, valued at $155.25 million.
• Strategic Education reported $1.52 earnings per share for the recent quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with a revenue of $321.47 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.0%, signifying a strong financial commitment to shareholders.

Marshfield Associates raised its stake in Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Free Report) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,849,034 shares of the health services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,543 shares during the period. Strategic Education comprises about 3.4% of Marshfield Associates' investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Marshfield Associates owned 7.65% of Strategic Education worth $155,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,475,831 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $123,911,000 after purchasing an additional 217,151 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Strategic Education by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 645,235 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $54,174,000 after purchasing an additional 56,182 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Strategic Education by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 423,549 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $35,561,000 after purchasing an additional 26,284 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Strategic Education by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 390,539 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $36,484,000 after buying an additional 29,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Strategic Education during the first quarter worth about $31,497,000. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Strategic Education from $98.00 to $88.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Strategic Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director G Thomas Waite III sold 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.69, for a total value of $57,183.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,926 shares in the company, valued at $1,300,994.94. This trade represents a 4.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Strategic Education Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of STRA stock opened at $81.35 on Friday. Strategic Education Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.25 and a 1 year high of $104.51. The firm's 50 day moving average is $80.07 and its 200-day moving average is $83.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.58.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The health services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. Strategic Education had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 7.52%. The firm had revenue of $321.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $322.84 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. Strategic Education's revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Strategic Education Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Strategic Education's payout ratio is presently 49.90%.

About Strategic Education

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.

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