Strategic Education, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.60 (NASDAQ:STRA)

Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 25th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a dividend of 0.60 per share by the health services provider on Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%.

Strategic Education has a dividend payout ratio of 43.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Strategic Education to earn $5.54 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 43.3%.

Strategic Education Trading Up 16.3 %

Shares of Strategic Education stock traded up $16.39 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $117.04. The company had a trading volume of 453,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 94,901. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $101.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.90. Strategic Education has a fifty-two week low of $64.53 and a fifty-two week high of $118.85. The firm has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a PE ratio of 40.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The health services provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.34. Strategic Education had a net margin of 6.16% and a return on equity of 5.52%. The firm had revenue of $302.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $297.48 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Strategic Education will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on STRA shares. Truist Financial upgraded Strategic Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $125.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Strategic Education from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Strategic Education from $104.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Strategic Education from a "c+" rating to a "b" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Strategic Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $126.75.

Insider Transactions at Strategic Education

In related news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $356,262.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 71,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,886,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $356,262.35. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 71,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,886,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.99, for a total value of $1,230,591.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 161,359 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,488,850.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.