Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Stock: Insider Michael Thawley Buys 950 Shares

Key Points

• Director Michael Thawley bought 950 shares for $48,849 at an average price of $51.42, increasing his stake by 7.82%; he also bought another 940 shares on November 10.
• Strategic Education’s latest quarterly results fell short of expectations: EPS was $1.72 versus $1.95 forecast, and revenue was $325.07 million versus $326.55 million expected, though revenue rose 1.6% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment was broadly cautious, with several firms downgrading the stock; the consensus rating was Hold. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, equivalent to a 4.4% yield.

Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) Director Michael Thawley acquired 950 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $51.42 per share, for a total transaction of $48,849.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 13,104 shares in the company, valued at $673,807.68. The trade was a 7.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Michael Thawley also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, November 10th, Michael Thawley bought 940 shares of Strategic Education stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $52.68 per share, for a total transaction of $49,519.20.

Strategic Education Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of Strategic Education stock traded up $1.42 on Tuesday, hitting $54.37. 458,219 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 292,673. Strategic Education Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.70 and a 52-week high of $89.73. The stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 319.79, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.51. The firm's 50-day moving average is $78.30 and its 200 day moving average is $79.87.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The health services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $325.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.55 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 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Strategic Education Inc. will post 7.23 EPS for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 30th. Strategic Education's dividend payout ratio is 1,411.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of STRA. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the 2nd quarter valued at about $291,189,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Strategic Education by 0.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,458,740 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $121,017,000 after acquiring an additional 7,346 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Strategic Education by 30.6% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 454,509 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $37,706,000 after acquiring an additional 106,487 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in Strategic Education by 26.6% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 275,342 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $21,097,000 after acquiring an additional 57,824 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Strategic Education by 10.8% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 263,439 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $21,863,000 after acquiring an additional 25,658 shares during the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STRA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barrington Research downgraded shares of Strategic Education from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Strategic Education from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Strategic Education from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Strategic Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Strategic Education from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $87.00.

About Strategic Education

Strategic Education, Inc. is an education services company that provides postsecondary programs and workforce-focused learning services. Its U.S. institutions include Strayer University and Capella University, which offer undergraduate and graduate programs in fields such as business, technology, health care and education through online and campus-based instruction. Outside the United States, the company operates Torrens University Australia and other education institutions serving students in Australia and New Zealand.

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