Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Strategic Education has a consensus analyst rating of “Hold”, with three hold ratings and two buy ratings among five covering brokerages. The average 1-year price target is $87.00.
• The company recently missed quarterly earnings expectations, posting EPS of $1.42 versus the expected $1.51 and revenue of $305.93 million versus $329.81 million estimated. Despite the miss, revenue was still up slightly year over year.
• Strategic Education also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, or $2.40 annualized, for a 3.0% yield. The payout ratio is currently about 42.4%.

Shares of Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $87.00.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on STRA shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $95.00 to $86.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen cut Strategic Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Strategic Education from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Strategic Education from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd.

Strategic Education Price Performance

Strategic Education stock opened at $79.19 on Thursday. Strategic Education has a one year low of $69.70 and a one year high of $87.38. The company's fifty day moving average price is $78.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.33. The company has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.50.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The health services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by ($0.09). Strategic Education had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 10.21%.The company had revenue of $305.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $329.81 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Strategic Education will post 7.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Strategic Education's payout ratio is presently 42.40%.

Insider Transactions at Strategic Education

In related news, Director Michael Thawley bought 665 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $72.71 per share, for a total transaction of $48,352.15. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 12,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,717.34. This represents a 5.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christa Hokenson sold 2,000 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $160,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 65,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,215,600. This trade represents a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Strategic Education

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in STRA. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Strategic Education by 88.5% in the third 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. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Strategic Education in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 154.2% during the fourth 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. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 85.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 387 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sankala Group LLC bought a new stake in Strategic Education during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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