Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Strategic Education has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, based on coverage from five brokerages. The average 12-month price target is $87.00.
• Recent analyst moves were mixed, with several firms lowering price targets while keeping neutral-to-bullish ratings, and Zacks Research upgrading the stock to strong-buy.
• The company reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, missing EPS and revenue estimates, but it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, yielding about 3.1%.

Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $87.00.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on STRA shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Strategic Education from $95.00 to $86.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Strategic Education from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research raised Strategic Education from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Barrington Research cut their price objective on Strategic Education from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Lizette Benedi Herraiz sold 2,982 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.88, for a total value of $238,202.16. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 55,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,439,730.40. This represents a 5.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 38,840 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.35, for a total value of $2,926,594.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 106,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,012,116.20. This trade represents a 26.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 62,420 shares of company stock worth $4,843,218 in the last quarter. 3.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Strategic Education

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake 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. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake 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. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake 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. Sankala Group LLC bought a new stake in Strategic Education in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in Strategic Education by 305.3% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 616 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company's stock.

Strategic Education Stock Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:STRA opened at $78.53 on Wednesday. Strategic Education has a twelve month low of $69.70 and a twelve month high of $93.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $81.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.43. The company has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.52.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The health services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $305.93 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $329.81 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. The company's revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Strategic Education will post 7.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. Strategic Education's dividend payout ratio is presently 42.40%.

Strategic Education Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.