Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Price Target Raised to $135.00

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) had its price target increased by Barrington Research from $125.00 to $135.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the health services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on STRA. TheStreet raised shares of Strategic Education from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Strategic Education from $104.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Strategic Education from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Truist Financial raised shares of Strategic Education from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the company from $110.00 to $125.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Strategic Education currently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $131.75.

Strategic Education Price Performance

NASDAQ STRA opened at $121.06 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.27. The company has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.69, a P/E/G 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.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The health services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $290.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $274.02 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 6.78%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Strategic Education will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 71,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,886,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.99, for a total transaction of $1,230,591.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 161,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,488,850.41. 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

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Strategic Education during the 4th quarter worth about $73,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 118,000.0% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,181 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Strategic Education during the 4th quarter worth about $236,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Strategic Education during the 4th quarter worth about $272,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.