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

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

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on STRA. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Strategic Education from $114.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Barrington Research decreased their target price on Strategic Education from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

STRA opened at $83.33 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.59. Strategic Education has a one year low of $78.43 and a one year high of $123.62. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.39.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The health services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $311.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.18 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 7.61%. As a group, analysts predict that Strategic Education will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Strategic Education news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 31,855 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.83, for a total transaction of $3,116,374.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 140,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,723,690.23. This trade represents a 18.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 6,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.83, for a total value of $589,425.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,998,189.48. This represents a 6.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Strategic Education

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,793,685 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $260,986,000 after buying an additional 45,421 shares during the period. Marshfield Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 1,836,491 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $171,565,000 after buying an additional 6,869 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,258,680 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $117,586,000 after buying an additional 20,456 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 890,133 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $82,382,000 after buying an additional 50,980 shares during the period. Finally, Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 618,286 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $57,760,000 after buying an additional 70,743 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.