Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from hold to buy, though the broader analyst consensus remains Hold with an average price target of $87.
• The stock was down 4.4% and opened at $74.03, below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages; it also trades near its 12-month low of $69.70.
• Recent earnings were weaker than expected, with EPS of $1.42 missing estimates and revenue of $305.93 million falling short of forecasts, while insider and institutional trading activity remained active.

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

STRA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barrington Research reduced their price objective on shares of Strategic Education from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research cut shares of Strategic Education from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $95.00 to $86.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Strategic Education from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Strategic Education currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $87.00.

Strategic Education Stock Down 4.4%

STRA stock opened at $74.03 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $79.58 and a 200 day moving average of $80.51. The firm has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of 13.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.51. Strategic Education has a twelve month low of $69.70 and a twelve month high of $88.50.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The health services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $329.81 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Strategic Education will post 7.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Strategic Education

In other news, insider Christa Hokenson sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $160,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 65,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,215,600. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Michael Thawley acquired 665 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director directly owned 12,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,717.34. This trade represents a 5.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Strategic Education

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STRA. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Strategic Education by 88.5% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 294 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Strategic Education in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 154.2% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 333 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Strategic Education by 85.2% in 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 during the period. Finally, Sankala Group LLC purchased a new position in Strategic Education during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 93.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.