Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on STRA. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Strategic Education from $104.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Strategic Education from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Strategic Education from a "c+" rating to a "b" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Strategic Education currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $120.50.

Strategic Education Stock Down 0.6 %

STRA traded down $0.59 on Tuesday, reaching $103.82. 66,795 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 88,475. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $100.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.12. Strategic Education has a 52-week low of $64.53 and a 52-week high of $111.95. The company has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.80, a PEG ratio of 1.23 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The health services provider reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $302.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $297.48 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 6.16% and a return on equity of 5.52%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Strategic Education will post 4.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Strategic Education

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STRA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 4.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,538,802 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $168,526,000 after buying an additional 103,533 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 7.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,225,778 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $199,942,000 after buying an additional 157,880 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 30.2% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,087,347 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $163,482,000 after buying an additional 484,022 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Strategic Education by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,334,695 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $123,287,000 after purchasing an additional 65,507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in Strategic Education by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,137,961 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $105,113,000 after purchasing an additional 23,794 shares in the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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