Kestra Investment Management LLC Invests $82,000 in Strategic Education Inc. $STRA

Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 978 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $82,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Significant Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 17.3% in the first quarter. Significant Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,689 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 105,000.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 3,153 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 3,150 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 36.7% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP grew its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 16.0% in the first quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 4,111 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 90.3% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,425 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on STRA. Wall Street Zen cut Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.33.

Strategic Education Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of STRA stock opened at $82.53 on Wednesday. Strategic Education Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.25 and a fifty-two week high of $104.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.80.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The health services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.52% and a net margin of 9.27%.The business had revenue of $321.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $322.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. Strategic Education’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Strategic Education Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director G Thomas Waite III sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.69, for a total value of $57,183.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,926 shares in the company, valued at $1,300,994.94. This trade represents a 4.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson purchased 1,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $81.50 per share, with a total value of $154,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 104,136 shares in the company, valued at $8,487,084. This trade represents a 1.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Strategic Education 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.