Ieq Capital LLC Trims Stake in Strategic Education Inc. $STRA

Ieq Capital LLC trimmed its stake in Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 29.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,893 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 1,589 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Strategic Education were worth $327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Strategic Education in the 1st quarter worth $415,000. Comerica Bank increased its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 14,541 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 12,243 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,028,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 167.9% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 6,916 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 4,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 4,111 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson acquired 1,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $81.50 per share, with a total value of $154,850.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 104,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,487,084. This trade represents a 1.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director G Thomas Waite III sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.69, for a total transaction of $57,183.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,300,994.94. This trade represents a 4.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on STRA. Wall Street Zen lowered Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Strategic Education from $98.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Strategic Education currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $99.33.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

Shares of STRA stock opened at $81.96 on Friday. Strategic Education Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.25 and a 52-week high of $104.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.21.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The health services provider reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. Strategic Education had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 7.52%. The business had revenue of $321.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $322.84 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Strategic Education Inc. will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is 49.90%.

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.