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

Key Points

• Strategic Education was upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting increased confidence in the stock's performance.
• The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for its last quarter, surpassing the expected $1.42, with a revenue of $321.47 million.
• Institutional investors own 93.27% of Strategic Education's stock, indicating strong institutional backing and confidence in the company.

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Monday. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Strategic Education presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.33.

Strategic Education Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of STRA stock opened at $82.82 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.69. The business's fifty day moving average is $79.53 and its 200 day moving average is $82.59. Strategic Education has a twelve month low of $72.25 and a twelve month high of $104.51.

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

Insider Transactions at Strategic Education

In other news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson bought 1,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $81.50 per share, with a total value of $154,850.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 104,136 shares in the company, valued at $8,487,084. The trade was a 1.86% 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, Director G Thomas Waite III sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.69, for a total value of $57,183.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,300,994.94. This represents a 4.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,076 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $568,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,708 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $1,467,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 390,539 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $36,484,000 after buying an additional 29,772 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 44.0% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 6,732 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $629,000 after buying an additional 2,058 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 44.5% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 15,423 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $1,441,000 after buying an additional 4,753 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.

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