Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $88.6667.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on STRA shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research downgraded Strategic Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Barrington Research decreased their price objective on Strategic Education from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Friday, July 17th.

Insider Transactions at Strategic Education

In other Strategic Education news, insider Christa Hokenson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $160,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 65,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,215,600. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Strategic Education

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Strategic Education by 3.1% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,195 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,360,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of Strategic Education by 40.2% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 43,433 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,647,000 after acquiring an additional 12,444 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 192.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,162 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 24,657 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,099,000 after acquiring an additional 4,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Strategic Education during the 2nd quarter valued at about $246,000. 93.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

Shares of STRA stock opened at $75.64 on Monday. Strategic Education has a fifty-two week low of $69.70 and a fifty-two week high of $87.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 13.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.18.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The health services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by ($0.09). Strategic Education had a net margin of 10.21% and a return on equity of 8.78%. The firm had revenue of $305.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $329.81 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. Strategic Education’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Strategic Education will post 7.2 earnings per share for the current year.

About Strategic Education

Strategic Education, Inc is a publicly traded higher education services holding company headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. Through its primary operating subsidiaries, Strayer University and Capella University, the company delivers degree programs and professional development opportunities to working adults. Its offerings span undergraduate and graduate degrees, certificates, continuing education, and workforce training in fields such as business, technology, health services, education, and public administration.

Strayer University, with a network of physical campuses across the United States complemented by an online platform, provides associate’s through doctoral degrees designed to accommodate non-traditional students.