StockNews.com Downgrades Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) to Hold

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

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on STRA. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Strategic Education from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.25.

Strategic Education Trading Up 0.6 %

STRA stock opened at $88.73 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Strategic Education has a 52-week low of $76.94 and a 52-week high of $123.62. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.40. The firm has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.03, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.56.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The health services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $312.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.16 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 9.84%. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Strategic Education will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Viet D. Dinh purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $95.59 per share, for a total transaction of $477,950.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 20,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,913,711.80. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Strategic Education

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Strategic Education in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Strategic Education by 2,650.0% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 330 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in Strategic Education during the second quarter worth $38,000. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.