Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Shares Gap Up to $96.71

Shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $96.71, but opened at $103.98. Strategic Education shares last traded at $99.90, with a volume of 11,447 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on STRA. TheStreet raised shares of Strategic Education from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Truist Financial raised shares of Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $104.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.25.

Strategic Education Trading Up 0.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 33.83, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s 50-day moving average is $100.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.00.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The health services provider reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.34. Strategic Education had a net margin of 6.16% and a return on equity of 5.52%. The firm had revenue of $302.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.48 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Strategic Education news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the business’s 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $356,262.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 71,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,886,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Strategic Education

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Strategic Education during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Strategic Education by 140.3% during the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 656 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Strategic Education during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in Strategic Education during the fourth quarter worth about $73,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Strategic Education by 27.8% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. 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.