Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The health services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.51, reports. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 6.78% and a net margin of 8.70%. The company had revenue of $290.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $274.02 million.

Strategic Education Stock Up 3.4 %

NASDAQ STRA opened at $121.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.50. Strategic Education has a 1 year low of $64.53 and a 1 year high of $121.29. The business’s 50-day moving average is $101.89 and its 200 day moving average is $94.19.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is presently 56.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.99, for a total value of $1,230,591.80. Following the sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Strategic Education news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 71,770 shares in the company, valued at $6,886,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.99, for a total transaction of $1,230,591.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 161,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,488,850.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Strategic Education

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Strategic Education by 4.5% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 11,912 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,240,000 after buying an additional 511 shares during the period. Guidance Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Strategic Education in the first quarter worth about $449,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Strategic Education by 103.6% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 253,390 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $23,406,000 after buying an additional 128,961 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Strategic Education by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,137,961 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $105,113,000 after buying an additional 23,794 shares during the period. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Strategic Education by 118,000.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,181 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 1,180 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Strategic Education from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Barrington Research raised their price objective on Strategic Education from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com raised Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. TheStreet raised Strategic Education from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Strategic Education from $104.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Strategic Education presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.75.

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.