Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

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

STRA has been the subject of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target 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 dropped their price target 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 Price Performance

NASDAQ STRA opened at $83.33 on Thursday. Strategic Education has a 1-year low of $78.43 and a 1-year high of $123.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $95.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.39.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The health services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.10). Strategic Education had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 7.61%. The firm had revenue of $311.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.18 million. On average, research analysts expect that Strategic Education will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Strategic Education

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Strategic Education

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Strategic Education by 2.5% in the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 37,830 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $3,501,000 after acquiring an additional 932 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Strategic Education by 12.8% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,938 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in Strategic Education by 5.3% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 7,086 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $656,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Strategic Education by 11.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 120,628 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $11,164,000 after acquiring an additional 12,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its holdings in Strategic Education by 22.5% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 20,353 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,884,000 after acquiring an additional 3,744 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

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.