Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Friday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Truist Financial increased their target price on Strategic Education from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America increased their target price on Strategic Education from $104.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Barrington Research increased their target price on Strategic Education from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Strategic Education from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Strategic Education from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.75.

Strategic Education Price Performance

Shares of STRA stock traded up $4.02 on Friday, hitting $121.06. 303,411 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 97,873. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.57. Strategic Education has a 12 month low of $64.53 and a 12 month high of $121.29. The stock has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $101.89 and a 200 day moving average of $94.19.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The health services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.51. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 5.52% and a net margin of 6.16%. The business had revenue of $290.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $274.02 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Strategic Education will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Strategic Education

In related news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 161,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,488,850.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Strategic Education news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 at the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 71,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,886,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Strategic Education

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STRA. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 155.7% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 396,049 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $29,803,000 after acquiring an additional 241,168 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 6,377.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 178,182 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $16,459,000 after acquiring an additional 175,431 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Strategic Education during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,511,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 103.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 253,390 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $23,406,000 after acquiring an additional 128,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,334,695 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $123,287,000 after acquiring an additional 65,507 shares in the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by 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.