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

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on STRA. Zacks Research upgraded Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Truist Financial downgraded Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.67.

Strategic Education Price Performance

Strategic Education stock opened at $81.46 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.56. Strategic Education has a fifty-two week low of $72.17 and a fifty-two week high of $93.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $80.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.85.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The health services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $311.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $322.29 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 8.75% and a net margin of 9.98%.The firm’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Strategic Education will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Strategic Education

In other Strategic Education news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 38,840 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 106,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,012,116.20. This trade represents a 26.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Lizette Benedi Herraiz sold 2,982 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.88, for a total value of $238,202.16. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 55,580 shares in the company, valued at $4,439,730.40. The trade was a 5.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 62,420 shares of company stock valued at $4,843,218 in the last ninety days. 3.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of STRA. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in Strategic Education by 305.3% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 616 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC bought a new stake in Strategic Education in the 4th quarter valued at $678,000. Sankala Group LLC bought a new stake in Strategic Education in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the 4th quarter valued at $5,059,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 28,385 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,276,000 after buying an additional 2,785 shares in the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.