Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Strategic Education from a buy to a hold, adding to a mixed analyst backdrop that still leaves the stock with an average Moderate Buy rating and a consensus target price of $87.00.
• The company missed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.42 EPS versus $1.51 expected and revenue of $305.93 million versus $329.81 million forecast, even though revenue was slightly higher than a year earlier.
• Shares opened at $78.50, with the stock trading below its 52-week high of $93.45; meanwhile, insider activity has been mixed, with the chairman buying shares and the CEO selling a large stake recently.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on STRA. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Strategic Education from $95.00 to $86.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Barrington Research lowered their target price on Strategic Education from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. 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 research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Strategic Education from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Strategic Education has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.00.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

Strategic Education stock opened at $78.50 on Friday. Strategic Education has a fifty-two week low of $69.70 and a fifty-two week high of $93.45. The company has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a PE ratio of 13.87, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.52. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $80.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.33.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Strategic Education news, Chairman Robert S. Silberman purchased 718 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $80.82 per share, with a total value of $58,028.76. Following the acquisition, the chairman owned 319,870 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,851,893.40. This trade represents a 0.22% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 38,840 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 106,332 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,012,116.20. The trade was a 26.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 62,420 shares of company stock worth $4,843,218 in the last ninety days. 3.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Strategic Education

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 62,355.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,467,702 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $117,710,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465,352 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 0.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,458,740 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $121,017,000 after acquiring an additional 7,346 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 881,089 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $70,663,000 after acquiring an additional 6,737 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 609,040 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $48,853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 30.6% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 454,509 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $37,706,000 after acquiring an additional 106,487 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company's stock.

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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