Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.51 EPS

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) released its earnings results on Thursday. The health services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.51, reports. The firm had revenue of $290.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $274.02 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 6.78%.

Strategic Education Price Performance

STRA stock opened at $121.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.69, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.50. Strategic Education has a twelve month low of $64.53 and a twelve month high of $121.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is currently 56.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on STRA. Barrington Research increased their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $104.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.99, for a total value of $1,230,591.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 161,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,488,850.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Strategic Education news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $356,262.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 71,770 shares in the company, valued at $6,886,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.99, for a total value of $1,230,591.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 161,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,488,850.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of STRA. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Strategic Education by 155.7% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 396,049 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $29,803,000 after acquiring an additional 241,168 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Strategic Education by 6,377.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 178,182 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $16,459,000 after acquiring an additional 175,431 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Strategic Education in the fourth quarter worth $13,511,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 103.6% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 253,390 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $23,406,000 after buying an additional 128,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,334,695 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $123,287,000 after buying an additional 65,507 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.