Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Stock Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $96.18 and traded as high as $98.00. Strategic Education shares last traded at $97.53, with a volume of 71,661 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on STRA. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Strategic Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $126.00.

Strategic Education Price Performance

The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $96.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.18. The company has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.58.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.35. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 10.44%. The company had revenue of $305.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $301.62 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. Strategic Education's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Strategic Education

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of STRA. Marshfield Associates increased its position in Strategic Education by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 1,829,622 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $169,332,000 after purchasing an additional 9,001 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Strategic Education by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 890,133 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $82,382,000 after acquiring an additional 50,980 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Strategic Education by 5.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,274 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $51,956,000 after buying an additional 28,082 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN raised its stake in Strategic Education by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 461,012 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $42,667,000 after acquiring an additional 10,084 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 76.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 399,144 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $36,941,000 after buying an additional 173,225 shares in the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.