Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by StockNews.com

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented 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 on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of 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 Price Performance

Shares of Strategic Education stock traded up $0.03 during trading on Thursday, hitting $83.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 178,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 130,903. Strategic Education has a 52 week low of $78.43 and a 52 week high of $123.62. The stock has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $95.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.28.

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Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 10.44%. The business had revenue of $311.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.18 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Strategic Education will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $3,116,374.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 140,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,723,690.23. This represents a 18.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 6,025 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 transaction of $589,425.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,756 shares in the company, valued at $7,998,189.48. This represents a 6.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Strategic Education

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in STRA. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 5,960 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $557,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 43,755 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $4,050,000 after acquiring an additional 7,203 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 1,337.4% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,495 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $794,000 after acquiring an additional 7,904 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 76.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 399,144 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $36,941,000 after acquiring an additional 173,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 120,628 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $11,164,000 after acquiring an additional 12,437 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.