Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Reaches New 1-Year High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $115.70 and last traded at $112.50, with a volume of 60628 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $100.65.

The health services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $290.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $274.02 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 5.52% and a net margin of 6.16%.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is 82.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TheStreet upgraded Strategic Education from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Strategic Education from $104.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Strategic Education from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Barrington Research lifted their target price on Strategic Education from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Strategic Education currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $131.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.99, for a total transaction of $1,230,591.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 161,359 shares in the company, valued at $15,488,850.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.99, for a total transaction of $1,230,591.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 161,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,488,850.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $356,262.35. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 71,770 shares of the company’s stock, 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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Strategic Education

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 320.0% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,155 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $990,000 after buying an additional 10,023 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Strategic Education in the third quarter worth about $1,338,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 3.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 11,676 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $879,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 30.9% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,787 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 11.3% in the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 31,626 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,380,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Strategic Education Stock Up 3.4 %

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.19. The company has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.74, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

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.