Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Sells 13,821 Shares of Strategic Education Inc. $STRA

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp cut its stake in shares of Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 44.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,179 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 13,821 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Strategic Education were worth $1,462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marshfield Associates increased its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 0.7% in the first quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 1,849,034 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $155,245,000 after buying an additional 12,543 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Strategic Education by 3.3% in the second quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,524,317 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $129,765,000 after acquiring an additional 48,486 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Strategic Education by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 645,235 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $54,174,000 after purchasing an additional 56,182 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Strategic Education by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 610,839 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $52,007,000 after purchasing an additional 26,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 449,578 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $38,273,000 after purchasing an additional 26,029 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Strategic Education Trading Down 0.1%

STRA opened at $80.16 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $79.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.69. Strategic Education Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.25 and a 1-year high of $104.51. The company has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.57.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The health services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.33. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 9.08%.The company had revenue of $319.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.40 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Strategic Education Inc. will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is currently 49.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on STRA. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.33.

About Strategic Education

Strategic Education, Inc is a publicly traded higher education services holding company headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. Through its primary operating subsidiaries, Strayer University and Capella University, the company delivers degree programs and professional development opportunities to working adults. Its offerings span undergraduate and graduate degrees, certificates, continuing education, and workforce training in fields such as business, technology, health services, education, and public administration.

Strayer University, with a network of physical campuses across the United States complemented by an online platform, provides associate’s through doctoral degrees designed to accommodate non-traditional students.