Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Free Report) by 11.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 120,628 shares of the health services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,437 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.49% of Strategic Education worth $11,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Strategic Education in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Strategic Education during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Strategic Education in the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. 93.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on STRA shares. StockNews.com lowered Strategic Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 5th. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Strategic Education from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One 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, Strategic Education currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $126.00.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STRA traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $92.38. 66,971 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 131,343. Strategic Education, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.11 and a twelve month high of $123.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.60, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.41.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The health services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $305.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $301.62 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 7.61%. Strategic Education's revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. Strategic Education's payout ratio is currently 45.71%.

Strategic Education Company Profile

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.