Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Shares Gap Up to $96.71

Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $96.71, but opened at $103.98. Strategic Education shares last traded at $99.90, with a volume of 11,447 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on STRA shares. Bank of America upped their target price on Strategic Education from $104.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered Strategic Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Strategic Education from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. TheStreet raised Strategic Education from a "c+" rating to a "b" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Strategic Education has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $124.25.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.97. The company has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.50.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The health services provider reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $302.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.48 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 5.52% and a net margin of 6.16%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. Strategic Education's dividend payout ratio is 82.76%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Strategic Education

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 30.2% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 484,022 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 155.7% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 396,049 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $29,803,000 after acquiring an additional 241,168 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Strategic Education in the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,494,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 6,377.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 178,182 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $16,459,000 after acquiring an additional 175,431 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 7.6% in the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 157,880 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company's stock.

Strategic Education Company 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.