Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Stock: Insider Michael Thawley Acquires 940 Shares

Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) Director Michael Thawley purchased 940 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $52.68 per share, with a total value of $49,519.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 14,044 shares in the company, valued at $739,837.92. The trade was a 7.17% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Michael Thawley also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, November 6th, Michael Thawley acquired 950 shares of Strategic Education stock. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $51.42 per share, for a total transaction of $48,849.00.

Strategic Education Price Performance

Strategic Education stock opened at $54.30 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.56. Strategic Education Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $50.70 and a fifty-two week high of $89.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 319.41, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.51.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The health services provider reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.23). Strategic Education had a net margin of 0.74% and a return on equity of 9.13%. The firm had revenue of $325.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Strategic Education Inc. will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 30th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 30th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is 1,411.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of STRA. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Strategic Education in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Heritage Family Offices LLP bought a new stake in Strategic Education in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Group One Trading LLC bought a new stake in Strategic Education in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in Strategic Education by 305.3% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 616 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in Strategic Education during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,000. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Strategic Education News

These are some of the STRA news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Two directors bought a combined 3,140 shares in transactions from November 6–10, for roughly $163,000. Insider buying can signal confidence, though it is not a guarantee of improved performance. Director share purchases
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded STRA from “hold” to “strong sell,” while Wall Street Zen cut its rating from “buy” to “hold.” These ratings add to a cautious analyst backdrop. Zacks Research ratings Wall Street Zen downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: The company’s latest reported quarter also missed consensus: earnings were $1.72 per share versus estimates of $1.95, and revenue was slightly below forecasts. Revenue nevertheless grew 1.6% year over year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on STRA shares. Barrington Research cut shares of Strategic Education from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Strategic Education from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Strategic Education from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Zacks Research downgraded Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $87.00.

Strategic Education Company Profile

Strategic Education, Inc. is an education services company that provides postsecondary programs and workforce-focused learning services. Its U.S. institutions include Strayer University and Capella University, which offer undergraduate and graduate programs in fields such as business, technology, health care and education through online and campus-based instruction. Outside the United States, the company operates Torrens University Australia and other education institutions serving students in Australia and New Zealand.