Wall Street analysts expect that Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) will post sales of $258.41 million for the current quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Two analysts have made estimates for Strategic Education’s earnings, with estimates ranging from $240.00 million to $276.82 million. Strategic Education reported sales of $263.77 million during the same quarter last year, which would suggest a negative year-over-year growth rate of 2%. The business is expected to issue its next earnings results on Friday, February 26th.
According to Zacks, analysts expect that Strategic Education will report full year sales of $1.02 billion for the current financial year, with estimates ranging from $1.00 billion to $1.04 billion. For the next financial year, analysts expect that the company will report sales of $1.17 billion, with estimates ranging from $1.15 billion to $1.19 billion. Zacks’ sales calculations are a mean average based on a survey of sell-side research analysts that that provide coverage for Strategic Education.
Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The health services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.02). Strategic Education had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 11.43%. The company had revenue of $239.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $241.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. Strategic Education’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year.
A number of brokerages recently issued reports on STRA. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (down previously from $165.00) on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Truist started coverage on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Friday, September 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Strategic Education from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Strategic Education from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Strategic Education from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $135.33.
In related news, Director John T. Casteen III sold 2,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.78, for a total value of $227,764.84. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $475,068.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.73, for a total value of $34,741.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 115,638 shares in the company, valued at $10,144,921.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in STRA. Marshfield Associates increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 156.0% during the third quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 872,465 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $79,804,000 after buying an additional 531,660 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 6.6% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,773,755 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $253,715,000 after buying an additional 172,813 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 694,279.2% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 166,651 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $21,883,000 after buying an additional 166,627 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 1,155.0% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 78,691 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $7,198,000 after buying an additional 72,421 shares during the period. Finally, Goodnow Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 27.2% during the third quarter. Goodnow Investment Group LLC now owns 298,170 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $27,274,000 after buying an additional 63,745 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.
Strategic Education stock traded up $1.43 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $97.58. 643,978 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 190,344. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $90.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $116.08. Strategic Education has a twelve month low of $81.83 and a twelve month high of $187.98. The company has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.41.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 7th. Investors of record on Monday, November 30th were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 27th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.98%.
About Strategic Education
Strategic Education, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides a range of post-secondary education and non-degree programs in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Strayer University, Capella University, and Non-Degree Programs. It operates Strayer University that provides undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business administration, accounting, information technology, education, health services administration, public administration, and criminal justice for working adult students through its 77 physical campuses located in the eastern United States, as well as through online; and an executive MBA online through its Jack Welch Management Institute.
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