Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

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

Separately, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Strategic Education from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.25.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

Shares of STRA traded down $0.40 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $93.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 180,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 124,324. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.42. Strategic Education has a 52-week low of $74.43 and a 52-week high of $123.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.11, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.56.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The health services provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.14. Strategic Education had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 7.47%. The company had revenue of $312.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.16 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. Strategic Education’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Strategic Education will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Strategic Education

In other news, Director Viet D. Dinh purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $95.59 per share, with a total value of $477,950.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 20,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,913,711.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Strategic Education

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Marshfield Associates raised its stake in Strategic Education by 0.5% in the second quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 1,820,621 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $201,470,000 after purchasing an additional 9,171 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,447,810 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $160,212,000 after buying an additional 48,462 shares during the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Strategic Education by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,209,100 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $133,799,000 after buying an additional 25,269 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 450,928 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $49,900,000 after acquiring an additional 2,749 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Strategic Education by 7.4% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 369,728 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $40,914,000 after acquiring an additional 25,455 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

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.