Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Price Target Raised to $98.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) had its target price raised by BMO Capital Markets from $97.00 to $98.00 in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the health services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $105.00 price objective on Strategic Education in a report on Thursday.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STRA opened at $80.40 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $82.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.06. Strategic Education has a fifty-two week low of $74.28 and a fifty-two week high of $123.62. The company has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.31, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.58.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The health services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $303.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $300.67 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 10.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.11 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Strategic Education will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Strategic Education

In other Strategic Education news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 31,855 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.83, for a total value of $3,116,374.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 140,281 shares in the company, valued at $13,723,690.23. The trade was a 18.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 6,025 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.83, for a total value of $589,425.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,756 shares in the company, valued at $7,998,189.48. The trade was a 6.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,826 shares of company stock worth $3,945,093 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Strategic Education

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of STRA. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 334.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,961 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,513,000 after acquiring an additional 29,220 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Strategic Education during the third quarter worth about $206,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 4.3% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,907 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $824,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Strategic Education in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Strategic Education by 11.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 120,628 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $11,164,000 after buying an additional 12,437 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

About Strategic Education

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.