Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Makes New $1.23 Million Investment in Strategic Education Inc. $STRA

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 14,849 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,232,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 62,355.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,467,702 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $117,710,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465,352 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Strategic Education by 188.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 245,296 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $20,882,000 after purchasing an additional 160,303 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Strategic Education by 115.4% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 216,117 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $18,588,000 after purchasing an additional 115,801 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Strategic Education in the 2nd quarter worth $9,615,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Strategic Education by 30.6% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 454,509 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $37,706,000 after purchasing an additional 106,487 shares during the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Strategic Education Price Performance

Strategic Education stock opened at $83.56 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.14. The company has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of 13.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.49. Strategic Education Inc. has a one year low of $69.70 and a one year high of $89.73.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The health services provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.04). Strategic Education had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 8.98%. The company had revenue of $321.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $327.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.54 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Strategic Education Inc. will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

STRA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barrington Research set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Strategic Education from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Strategic Education from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Friday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Strategic Education presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Christa Hokenson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $160,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 65,195 shares in the company, valued at $5,215,600. This trade represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 3.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Strategic Education Profile

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.