Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Stock Rating Upgraded by 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 research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Monday, September 8th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $99.33.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:STRA traded up $1.11 on Friday, hitting $83.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 174,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 152,378. The company has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.69. The stock's 50-day moving average is $79.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.51. Strategic Education has a 12 month low of $72.25 and a 12 month high of $104.51.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Strategic Education

In related news, Director G Thomas Waite III sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.69, for a total transaction of $57,183.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,926 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,300,994.94. The trade was a 4.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson bought 1,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $81.50 per share, for a total transaction of $154,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 104,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,487,084. The trade was a 1.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position 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 last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in Strategic Education by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 9,238 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in Strategic Education by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 8,086 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Strategic Education by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 144,355 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $12,289,000 after purchasing an additional 4,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in Strategic Education by 42.1% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 7,833 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 2,319 shares during the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Strategic Education Company Profile

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.