Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Sets New 1-Year Low - Time to Sell?

Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $77.53 and last traded at $79.15, with a volume of 15266 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $81.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barrington Research cut their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of Strategic Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Strategic Education from $114.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd.

Strategic Education Stock Down 1.1 %

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $87.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.81. The company has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.58.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The health services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $311.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.18 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 10.44%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

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Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. Strategic Education's payout ratio is presently 51.39%.

Insider Transactions at Strategic Education

In related news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 6,025 shares of Strategic Education 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 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. The trade was a 6.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 31,855 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.83, for a total value of $3,116,374.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 140,281 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,723,690.23. This represents a 18.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,332 shares of company stock worth $3,825,169 in the last quarter. 3.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,793,685 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $260,986,000 after purchasing an additional 45,421 shares in the last quarter. Marshfield Associates lifted its holdings in Strategic Education by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 1,836,491 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $171,565,000 after acquiring an additional 6,869 shares in the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in Strategic Education by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,258,680 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $117,586,000 after acquiring an additional 20,456 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 6.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 890,133 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $82,382,000 after acquiring an additional 50,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. raised its position in shares of Strategic Education by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 618,286 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $57,760,000 after purchasing an additional 70,743 shares during the period. 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.