Short Interest in Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) Grows By 28.3%

Key Points

• Short interest in STRA jumped 28.3% in March to 1,191,244 shares, equal to about 5.5% of shares short and a short-interest ratio of 3.6 days.
• Insider selling has been notable—CFO and CEO sold large blocks (13,000 and 38,840 shares respectively), with insiders offloading 62,420 shares in the past 90 days and insider ownership now at 3.60%.
• Analysts are mixed but the consensus is a Moderate Buy with a $92.67 target; the company beat EPS expectations ($1.74 vs. $1.47) while revenue slightly missed, and it pays a $0.60 quarterly dividend (≈3.0% yield).

Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,191,244 shares, a growth of 28.3% from the March 15th total of 928,316 shares. Currently, 5.5% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 329,473 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 13,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.37, for a total transaction of $1,070,810.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,096 shares in the company, valued at $8,244,907.52. This trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 38,840 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.35, for a total value of $2,926,594.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 106,332 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,012,116.20. This represents a 26.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 62,420 shares of company stock valued at $4,843,218. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Strategic Education

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STRA. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in Strategic Education by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 9,367 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $806,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Strategic Education by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,538 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Strategic Education by 88.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 294 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in Strategic Education by 85.2% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 387 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Strategic Education by 154.2% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 333 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Strategic Education from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered Strategic Education from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Truist Financial lowered Strategic Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.67.

Strategic Education Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ STRA opened at $80.42 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.84, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.53. Strategic Education has a 12-month low of $72.17 and a 12-month high of $93.45. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $80.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.79.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The health services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $311.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $322.29 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 8.75% and a net margin of 9.98%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Strategic Education will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Strategic Education's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.28%.

About Strategic Education

Strategic Education, Inc is a publicly traded higher education services holding company headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. Through its primary operating subsidiaries, Strayer University and Capella University, the company delivers degree programs and professional development opportunities to working adults. Its offerings span undergraduate and graduate degrees, certificates, continuing education, and workforce training in fields such as business, technology, health services, education, and public administration.

Strayer University, with a network of physical campuses across the United States complemented by an online platform, provides associate’s through doctoral degrees designed to accommodate non-traditional students.

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