Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Posts Earnings Results

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The health services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.33, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $319.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.40 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 7.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.16 EPS.

Strategic Education Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of STRA traded up $0.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $76.02. The stock had a trading volume of 161,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 167,866. Strategic Education has a fifty-two week low of $72.25 and a fifty-two week high of $104.51. The company has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of 15.80, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.54.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is currently 49.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on STRA. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Monday, September 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Strategic Education has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 85.2% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 387 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Strategic Education during the 2nd quarter valued at about $94,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Strategic Education in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $225,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the second quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

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.