Insider Buying: Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Director Acquires $12,750.00 in Stock

Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) Director William Slocum bought 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $51.00 per share, with a total value of $12,750.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 9,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $462,315. The trade was a 2.84% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Strategic Education Price Performance

NASDAQ STRA opened at $55.08 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.41. Strategic Education Inc. has a one year low of $50.70 and a one year high of $89.73. The firm has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 324.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.51.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The health services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $325.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.55 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 0.74% and a return on equity of 9.13%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Strategic Education Inc. will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 30th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 30th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1,411.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Strategic Education from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Strategic Education from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 7th. Finally, William Blair downgraded shares of Strategic Education to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $87.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of STRA. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 39.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 77,418 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $6,013,000 after buying an additional 21,848 shares during the period. Group One Trading LLC bought a new stake in shares of Strategic Education during the third quarter worth $40,000. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 59.8% during the third quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 4,443 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 1,663 shares during the period. Hudson Portfolio Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 35.5% during the third quarter. Hudson Portfolio Management LLC now owns 3,830 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 10.8% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 263,439 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $21,863,000 after acquiring an additional 25,658 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Strategic Education

Strategic Education, Inc. is an education services company that provides postsecondary programs and workforce-focused learning services. Its U.S. institutions include Strayer University and Capella University, which offer undergraduate and graduate programs in fields such as business, technology, health care and education through online and campus-based instruction. Outside the United States, the company operates Torrens University Australia and other education institutions serving students in Australia and New Zealand.