Point72 Asset Management L.P. Boosts Stock Position in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Free Report) by 94.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,670 shares of the health services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,170 shares during the quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P.'s holdings in Strategic Education were worth $988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Strategic Education by 46.3% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 395 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Strategic Education by 2.6% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 6,199 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its position in Strategic Education by 8.7% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,160 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 1.9% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 11,000 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $1,217,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,448 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on STRA shares. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Strategic Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $126.00.

Strategic Education Price Performance

STRA stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $99.91. 27,792 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 130,835. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.11 and a 52-week high of $123.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $92.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.93.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The health services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.35. Strategic Education had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 7.61%. The business had revenue of $305.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $301.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. Strategic Education's revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Strategic Education's payout ratio is 45.71%.

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.