Strategic Education, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.60 (NASDAQ:STRA)

Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 25th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a dividend of 0.60 per share by the health services provider on Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd.

Strategic Education has a dividend payout ratio of 43.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Strategic Education to earn $5.54 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 43.3%.

Strategic Education Trading Up 16.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:STRA opened at $117.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $101.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a PE ratio of 40.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.50. Strategic Education has a one year low of $64.53 and a one year high of $118.85.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The health services provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.34. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 5.52% and a net margin of 6.16%. The business had revenue of $302.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.48 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. Strategic Education’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Strategic Education will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Strategic Education

In related news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $356,262.35. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 71,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,886,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 161,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,488,850.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,886,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped 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. TheStreet upgraded Strategic Education from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Strategic Education from $104.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Barrington Research upped their price objective on Strategic Education from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.75.

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.