BMO Capital Markets Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Stock Price

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets has cut the price target for Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) from $98.00 to $88.00, indicating an 18.44% potential upside from its last closing price.
• Strategic Education reported earnings of $1.52 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates of $1.42, and recorded a revenue of $321.47 million.
• Institutional investors currently hold 93.27% of Strategic Education's stock, with significant increases in positions from firms like GAMMA Investing LLC and Sterling Capital Management LLC.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $98.00 to $88.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the health services provider's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price objective indicates a potential upside of 19.01% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on STRA. Truist Financial set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Strategic Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

NASDAQ STRA traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $73.95. 37,469 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 173,637. The business's 50 day moving average is $83.16 and its 200-day moving average is $86.25. Strategic Education has a 1 year low of $72.25 and a 1 year high of $104.51. The company has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.58.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The health services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Strategic Education had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 7.52%. The firm had revenue of $321.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $322.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Strategic Education will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Strategic Education by 148.9% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 331 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Strategic Education by 54.3% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 395 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Strategic Education by 809.1% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 700 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Strategic Education by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,431 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company's stock.

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.