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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Strategic Education from “hold” to “buy,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold” with an average price target of $95.33.
• Strategic Education’s shares opened at $82.00, with a market capitalization of approximately $1.82 billion and a 52-week range of $69.70 to $89.73.
• The company’s latest quarterly results fell slightly short of expectations, reporting EPS of $1.76 versus $1.80 forecast and revenue of $321.6 million versus $327.55 million expected, despite 4.9% year-over-year revenue growth.

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

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Friday, July 17th. Barrington Research set a $105.00 target price on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Strategic Education from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Strategic Education from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Strategic Education from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Strategic Education presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $95.33.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:STRA opened at $82.00 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $79.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.67, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.50. Strategic Education has a 1-year low of $69.70 and a 1-year high of $89.73.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The health services provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $321.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $327.55 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 8.98% and a net margin of 10.46%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.54 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Strategic Education will post 7.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Strategic Education

In other news, insider Christa Hokenson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $160,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 65,195 shares in the company, valued at $5,215,600. This trade represents a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Strategic Education

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake 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 worth $117,710,000 after buying an additional 1,465,352 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,458,740 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $121,017,000 after purchasing an additional 7,346 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Strategic Education by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 881,089 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $70,663,000 after acquiring an additional 6,737 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position 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 worth $37,706,000 after purchasing an additional 106,487 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company's stock.

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.

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