Hsbc Holdings PLC Makes New Investment in Strategic Education Inc. $STRA

Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 20,567 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,594,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Strategic Education in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $291,189,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 62,355.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,467,702 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $117,710,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465,352 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the second quarter worth $16,778,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 188.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 245,296 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $20,882,000 after purchasing an additional 160,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 115.4% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 216,117 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $18,588,000 after purchasing an additional 115,801 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Strategic Education

In other news, insider Christa Hokenson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $160,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 65,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,215,600. This trade represents a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 3.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Strategic Education from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Strategic Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.33.

Strategic Education Price Performance

Shares of Strategic Education stock opened at $84.64 on Monday. Strategic Education Inc. has a 1-year low of $69.70 and a 1-year high of $89.73. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of 14.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.49.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The health services provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.04). Strategic Education had a return on equity of 8.98% and a net margin of 10.46%.The company had revenue of $321.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $327.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Strategic Education Inc. will post 7.23 EPS for the current year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

About Strategic Education

Strategic Education, Inc is a publicly traded higher education services holding company headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. Through its primary operating subsidiaries, Strayer University and Capella University, the company delivers degree programs and professional development opportunities to working adults. Its offerings span undergraduate and graduate degrees, certificates, continuing education, and workforce training in fields such as business, technology, health services, education, and public administration.

Strayer University, with a network of physical campuses across the United States complemented by an online platform, provides associate’s through doctoral degrees designed to accommodate non-traditional students.