Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) Shares Bought by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Strategic Education Inc. by 129.9%, acquiring 78,740 shares and owning approximately 0.58% of the company, valued at $11.7 million.
• Institutional investors currently hold 93.27% of Strategic Education stock, with notable increases in stake from Wells Fargo and Russell Investments Group during the fourth quarter.
• Strategic Education reported adjusted earnings of $1.52 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, along with a quarterly dividend of $0.60 set to be paid on September 15th.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Free Report) by 129.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 139,374 shares of the health services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 78,740 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.58% of Strategic Education worth $11,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of STRA. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Strategic Education during the first quarter worth $31,497,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Strategic Education by 202.3% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 114,765 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $10,720,000 after buying an additional 76,804 shares during the period. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. boosted its stake in Strategic Education by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 618,286 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $57,760,000 after buying an additional 70,743 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in Strategic Education by 229.3% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 65,113 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $5,467,000 after buying an additional 45,341 shares during the period. Finally, Lightrock Netherlands B.V. boosted its stake in Strategic Education by 86.4% during the first quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 91,804 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $7,721,000 after buying an additional 42,542 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company's stock.

Strategic Education Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of STRA traded down $0.86 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $77.90. 104,594 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 201,769. The firm has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.20, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.58. Strategic Education Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.25 and a 12-month high of $104.51. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $81.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.30.

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

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Strategic Education's dividend payout ratio is 49.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Strategic Education from $98.00 to $88.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Strategic Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $105.00 target price on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

Strategic Education Profile

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.