Truist Financial Upgrades Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) to “Buy”

Truist Financial upgraded shares of Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Truist Financial currently has $125.00 target price on the health services provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $110.00.

STRA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TheStreet upgraded Strategic Education from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Barrington Research reiterated an outperform rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Strategic Education from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Bank of America increased their target price on Strategic Education from $104.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Strategic Education from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $124.25.

Strategic Education Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:STRA opened at $98.11 on Wednesday. Strategic Education has a one year low of $64.53 and a one year high of $111.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $100.81 and a 200-day moving average of $93.16. The company has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 33.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The health services provider reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.34. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 5.52% and a net margin of 6.16%. The company had revenue of $302.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $297.48 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Strategic Education will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is currently 82.76%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 161,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,488,850.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 161,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,488,850.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Strategic Education

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of STRA. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Strategic Education by 6,377.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 178,182 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $16,459,000 after buying an additional 175,431 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its position in shares of Strategic Education by 88.4% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 26,938 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,027,000 after purchasing an additional 12,636 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Strategic Education by 152.9% in the third quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 9,965 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $750,000 after purchasing an additional 6,024 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Strategic Education by 3.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 11,676 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $879,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Strategic Education by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 17,924 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 142 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.