Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Hits New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $115.70 and last traded at $112.50, with a volume of 60628 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $100.65.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is 82.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STRA has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. TheStreet raised shares of Strategic Education from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Truist Financial raised shares of Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.25.

Strategic Education Trading Up 11.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a PE ratio of 37.89, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.74.

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

Insider Activity at Strategic Education

In related news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 161,359 shares in the company, valued at $15,488,850.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related 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 transaction of $356,262.35. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 71,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,886,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 161,359 shares in the company, valued at $15,488,850.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 175,431 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its position in Strategic Education by 88.4% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 26,938 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,027,000 after purchasing an additional 12,636 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 152.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 9,965 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $750,000 after buying an additional 6,024 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Strategic Education by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 11,676 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $879,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Strategic Education by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 17,924 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,656,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.