Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Stock: Insider William Slocum Buys 1,000 Shares

Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) Director William Slocum purchased 1,000 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $52.00 per share, for a total transaction of $52,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $458,380. This trade represents a 12.80% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

STRA opened at $54.30 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 319.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.51. Strategic Education Inc. has a one year low of $50.70 and a one year high of $89.73. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $77.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.56.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The health services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.23). Strategic Education had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 0.74%. The business had revenue of $325.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $326.55 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. Strategic Education’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Strategic Education Inc. will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Strategic Education

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STRA. Group One Trading LLC purchased a new position in Strategic Education in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 59.8% in the third quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 4,443 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 1,663 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Portfolio Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 35.5% in the third quarter. Hudson Portfolio Management LLC now owns 3,830 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 10.8% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 263,439 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $21,863,000 after acquiring an additional 25,658 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 16,250.0% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 6,540 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $508,000 after acquiring an additional 6,500 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Strategic Education

These are some of the STRA headlines 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
• Neutral Sentiment: A report cited short interest of zero shares and zero days to cover, despite describing a large increase; the figures and description conflict, making the signal unclear.
• 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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Strategic Education from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. William Blair cut shares of Strategic Education to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Strategic Education from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $95.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock 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.