Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 11.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 120,628 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,437 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.49% of Strategic Education worth $11,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Strategic Education in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Strategic Education in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Strategic Education by 46.3% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 395 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Strategic Education in the third quarter worth $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Strategic Education Price Performance

NASDAQ:STRA opened at $92.81 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 17.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.50. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.11 and a 1-year high of $123.62.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The health services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $305.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $301.62 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 10.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is 45.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Strategic Education from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.00.

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.