Barrington Research Reiterates Outperform Rating for Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA)

Barrington Research restated their outperform rating on shares of Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) in a report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $125.00 target price on the health services provider’s stock. Barrington Research also issued estimates for Strategic Education’s Q1 2024 earnings at $0.55 EPS, Q2 2024 earnings at $1.16 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $1.07 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $1.70 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $4.50 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $5.40 EPS.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on STRA. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $104.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Strategic Education from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Saturday, March 9th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Strategic Education from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Strategic Education has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $120.50.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

Strategic Education stock opened at $100.51 on Tuesday. Strategic Education has a 12-month low of $64.53 and a 12-month high of $111.95. The company has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $100.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.24.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The health services provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.34. Strategic Education had a net margin of 6.16% and a return on equity of 5.52%. The firm had revenue of $302.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $297.48 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Strategic Education will post 4.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.76%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $356,262.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 71,770 shares in the company, valued at $6,886,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.99, for a total value of $1,230,591.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 161,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,488,850.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $356,262.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 71,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,886,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Strategic Education

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in STRA. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Strategic Education in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Strategic Education by 140.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 656 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Strategic Education in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $58,000. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Strategic Education in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in Strategic Education in the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

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.