Truist Financial Boosts Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Price Target to $145.00

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) had its price target increased by Truist Financial from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the health services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barrington Research lifted their price target on Strategic Education from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. TheStreet raised Strategic Education from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $104.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Strategic Education from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $133.50.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

Shares of STRA opened at $117.82 on Friday. Strategic Education has a 1 year low of $64.53 and a 1 year high of $121.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $102.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.62. The firm has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of 27.92, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.50.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The health services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $290.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $274.02 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 6.78% and a net margin of 8.70%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Strategic Education will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is 56.87%.

Insider Activity at Strategic Education

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

Institutional Trading of Strategic Education

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education during the fourth quarter worth approximately $73,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Strategic Education by 118,000.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,181 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Strategic Education in the third quarter worth $234,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Strategic Education in the fourth quarter worth $236,000. 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.