Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Director Buys $48,849.00 in Stock

Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) Director Michael Thawley purchased 950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $51.42 per share, for a total transaction of $48,849.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,104 shares in the company, valued at $673,807.68. This trade represents a 7.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Michael Thawley also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, November 10th, Michael Thawley acquired 940 shares of Strategic Education stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $52.68 per share, with a total value of $49,519.20.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STRA opened at $55.08 on Friday. Strategic Education Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.70 and a 52-week high of $89.73. The stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 324.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $76.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.41.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The health services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $325.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $326.55 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 0.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Strategic Education Inc. will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 30th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is currently 1,411.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on STRA. Weiss Ratings cut Strategic Education from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. William Blair lowered Strategic Education to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Strategic Education from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Barrington Research cut Strategic Education from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $87.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Strategic Education

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 39.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 77,418 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $6,013,000 after purchasing an additional 21,848 shares during the period. Group One Trading LLC acquired a new position in shares of Strategic Education during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 59.8% during the third quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 4,443 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 1,663 shares during the period. Hudson Portfolio Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 35.5% during the third quarter. Hudson Portfolio Management LLC now owns 3,830 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 1,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 10.8% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 263,439 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $21,863,000 after buying an additional 25,658 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

About Strategic Education

Strategic Education, Inc. is an education services company that provides postsecondary programs and workforce-focused learning services. Its U.S. institutions include Strayer University and Capella University, which offer undergraduate and graduate programs in fields such as business, technology, health care and education through online and campus-based instruction. Outside the United States, the company operates Torrens University Australia and other education institutions serving students in Australia and New Zealand.