Historical data shows that a consistent $500 monthly investment into Strategic Education, Inc. (STRA) starting in 2020 would have turned a total investment of $49K into $44K today. This represents a total return of -10.1% over the 6-year period, compounding through dividend reinvestment and market growth.
The Impact of Dividend Reinvestment (DRIP)
Strategic Education, Inc. pays a dividend (currently yielding ~0.03%). By utilizing a Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP), generated dividends automatically purchase fractional shares. Over this 6-year period, regular dividend payments totaled $5K. Reinvesting these dividends continuously compounded your returns, accelerating the portfolio's growth far beyond simple price appreciation.
STRA vs. S&P 500 (SPY) Benchmark
When comparing this dollar cost averaging strategy against a broad market index,STRA underperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY). The same $500 monthly contributions into SPY would have grown to $87K, compared to STRA's $44K.