ITT Educational Services, Inc.

• Should We Follow Steven Cohen Into ITT Education Services?

  By Anh HOANG - June 12, 2013 | Tickers: APOL, DV, ESI

  Recently, Steven Cohen has filed a 13G filing to disclose his passive stake in ITT Educational Services (NYSE: ESI). He accumulated more than 1.23 million shares in the company, equivalent to around a 5.3% stake in the company. Since the beginning of the year, ITT has gained nearly 55% on the market, much higher than the S&P 500’s return of only 15.23%. Should we follow more »

• Stay Away From For-Profit Education

  By Matthew Frankel - June 11, 2013 | Tickers: APOL, DV, ESI

  Apollo Group (NASDAQ: APOL), the for-profit education company that is the parent of University of Phoenix, looks like a great deal on the surface. At 7.9 times TTM earnings and over $1.2 billion in net cash, it almost looks like a “too good to be true” situation. It is. The company’s business model is no longer viable and I believe that Apollo’s recent downsizing efforts are more »

• Three Education Stocks Poised For a Turnaround

  By Zachary Scheidt - June 7, 2013 | Tickers: APOL, ESI, STRA

  Editor's Note: The initial article stated Apollo Group was in the process of laying off 47% of their University of Phoenix employees. This has been corrected to reflect the correct percentage, 4.7%. We apologize for the error.

   

  For-profit education stocks are setting up for a dramatic rebound as major fundamental factors shift in favor of these investments.

   

  The for-profit education sector represents a tremendous value due to a more »

• 3 Highly Profitable Small Cap Stocks

  By Anthony Parsons - May 31, 2013 | Tickers: CAP, DHX, ESI

  Finding small cap stocks that have strong earnings and that have grown significantly over the past five years can potentially uncover winners for the long-term.  These stocks provide exciting opportunities that could uncover some hidden gems.

  How to Find These Stocks

  • Small cap stock
  • Listed on the NYSE or NASDAQ or AMEX
  • EBITDA margin TTM of greater than or equal to 30%
  • EPS growth over the last five years of more »

• Devry, Inc.: A Hidden Gem in the Private Education Sector

  By Michael Markow - May 26, 2013 | Tickers: APOL, COCO, DV, ONE, ESI, STRA

  Anyone following the for-profit higher education industry knows of its recent turbulence: student enrollments, net incomes, and ultimately share prices have been falling for years. The common agreement for the cause of the spike and retracement of share prices has been the surge in demand for education after the recent financial panic followed by a weak demand over the past few years, as seen in declining student enrollments. Increasing regulatory more »

• This Educational Stock Is a Cheap Buy

  By Vladimir Zernov - May 17, 2013 | Tickers: APOL, COCO, DV, ESI

  ITT Educational Services’ (NYSE: ESI) stock was battered in 2012. After starting the year trading at $59.82, ITT's stock finished 2012 trading at only $19.29, a 67.8% decline. The company provides master, bachelor, associate and career-oriented education programs in various fields. This year, the stock has started showing signs of life again. It is currently up 20% year-to-date. The recent positive surprise in the company's more »

• Wisdom Dawns On Markets For Education Stocks

  By Jacob Wolinsky - May 14, 2013 | Tickers: CPLA, LOPE, ESI

  For-profit education stocks such as Capella  (NASDAQ: CPLA), ITT (NYSE: ESI), and Grand Canyon (NASDAQ: LOPE) have witnessed a sharp rally lately with all the three stocks rising in double digit percentages during the last week. For regular readers of ours, this should not come as a surprise as the advantages of this business model has been discussed regularly. What is happening differently now is that the market is shedding more »

• Getting Schooled By Career Education Corp

  By Sajid Karsan - March 6, 2013 | Tickers: APOL, CECO, COCO, DV, ESI, STRA

  The for-profit education sector has been hit hard by the market, and for good reason. This industry utilized dishonest marketing practices and drove its enormous growth using massive amounts of federal funding that was rubber stamped by public servants asleep at the wheel. But the party's now over; new rules and additional oversight have pushed many companies in this sector into the red, causing massive losses. But has the more »

• Education is Changing, Are You Ready?

  By Kyle Campbell - March 4, 2013 | Tickers: APOL, BPI, DV, ESI, STRA

  Editor's Note: Contrary to reporting in a prior version of this post, Ashford University retains its accreditation, and did not recently lose it. The Fool regrets the error.

  The higher education landscape is changing, and for-profit education providers could wind up with a failing grade. With costs skyrocketing, and students turning to the fast-growing field of free online education services, let’s see whether these traditional education companies look more »

• How to Short the Student Loan Bubble

  By Jordan Wathen - March 2, 2013 | Tickers: APOL, DV, ESI |

  Houston, we have a problem.

  After years of more and more aid, more loans, and fewer jobs, the student loan bubble looks ready to pop. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York released a report that indicated that 35% of people under 30 who have student loans are at least 90 days late. Despite all the talk of an economic recovery, more people under 30 are now late on their more »

• Best Performing Stocks of Earnings Season (So Far) Part 2

  By Brian Nichols - February 1, 2013 | Tickers: VOXX, EFII, ESI, OSK, SYNA

  On Wednesday I published an article showing the best performing stocks of this earnings season, and then provided an outlook. In the first piece I looked at the top five, but now I am taking it one step further to look at numbers six through 10. These five stocks might now have rallied to the degree as those in Part 1, but are worth celebrating nonetheless.

  Company

  Ticker

  Date

  1-Day more »

• Dropout Investor: Reasons to Avoid the For-Profit Education Sector

  By John Macris - January 14, 2013 | Tickers: APOL, DV, LOPE, ESI, STRA |

  Editor's Note: The initial version provided an incorrect P/E ratio for ITT Education Services and referenced Grand Canyon's opening of a campus in Massachusetts. This version has been corrected.

  During March 2009, I had the opportunity to meet professional investor Mark B. Fisher at a conference in New York City. Mr. Fisher is Founder/CEO of a major futures clearing firm and a graduate of University of more »

• Festivus: The Airing of Grievances!

  By AnnaLisa Kraft - December 10, 2012 | Tickers: APOL, DECK, ENVI, ESI, SVU, ZNGA

  Festivus, the holiday for the rest of us popularized by the TV show "Seinfeld," is just two weeks away so you still have time to pull out the Festivus aluminum pole from the crawlspace, Google some recipes for the traditional meatloaf, and send out invites to upper management in the following companies.

  Shareholders of these companies will have plenty to shout about for the customary airing of grievances usually synchronized more »

• 3 Education Companies Trading At Compelling Valuations

  By Bill Edson - December 5, 2012 | Tickers: APOL, BPI, ESI

  For-profit education had a great run as a growth industry. But now that the economy is recovering, the bubble in education is slowing and, in some areas, deflating rapidly. Many potential enrollees are selecting other education options.

  The explosive growth of for-profit colleges was not sustainable. In the current, challenging environment investors need to find rock-bottom valuations before taking long position. Fortunately, Bridgepoint (NYSE: BPI), Apollo (NASDAQ: APOL), and ITT more »

• Beat Student Loan Debt with These 3 Education Stocks

  By Bill Edson - November 8, 2012 | Tickers: APOL, BPI, DV, LOPE, ESI

  Are we coming out of a bubble in for-profit education? Though many students benefit from these institutions, there are many who emerge from them saddled with debt and without jobs.

  The growth of for-profit colleges has been rapid and is not sustainable. Enrollment has dropped, and many stock prices are dropping with it. In such a challenging environment investors must demand low valuations for investments.

  Mounting Student Loan Debt

  Rising more »

• Back to School: How to Play Growing Student Loan Debt for Profits

  By Bill Edson - October 24, 2012 | Tickers: APOL, BPI, DV, ESI, STRA

  Is there a bubble in for-profit education? Though many students benefit from these institutions, there are many who emerge from them saddled with debt and without jobs.

  The growth of for-profit colleges has been rapid and is not sustainable. Enrollment is dropping, and many stock prices are falling as well. In such a challenging environment, investors must demand low valuations for any investments.

  Mounting Student Loan Debt

  The Institute for more »

• Can You Profit From For-Profit Education?

  By T. M. Loyd - September 20, 2012 | Tickers: APOL, DV, ESI

  For-profit education wallows in 52-week lows, but yesterday’s losers are tomorrow’s winners, and these stocks bear fundamental examination yet again; as a former public educator I have no great love for this industry, but the shockwaves the industry has suffered due to government attempts at regulation this year have piqued my curiosity. So crack open your books (e.g. SEC filings) and pull up a desk.

  Even more »

• Is There Value in this Hated Sector?

  By Chad Henage - July 2, 2012 | Tickers: BPI, ESI, JPM, STRA

  I would suggest that outside of the banking industry there might not be a more hated sector of the market than the for-profit education sector. Whether it's an article like I've written before about loans “exploiting” students, or the educational institutions, there isn't a lot of positive press about these companies. With a contrarians bent, I decided to see if one of the companies in this industry could be a good investment. As long as unemployment remains high, there will be a place for workers to go to schools to learn a new trade. Even if unemployment improves, these institutions offer flexibility in learning that many local colleges and universities can't match.

• Most Shorted Stocks #4 – ITT Educational Services

  By Chad Henage - March 5, 2012 | Tickers: BPI, ESI

  The fact that ITT is on this list, doesn't really surprise me. As a former stockholder in ITT, I made the decision to sell about 6 months ago, when I could see that the company wasn't going to grow like it had been. Just because a company isn't going to have the same growth rate, doesn't make it an automatic short. First, let's look at the current stock price and see if it appears overvalued.

• And So It Begins: For-Profit Schools Now Falling Off a Cliff

  By James Brumley - January 19, 2012 | Tickers: APOL, CPLA, ESI, STRA

  When it happens to one company in an industry, it's unfortunate. When it happens to two companies in the same industry, it's usually chalked up as a coincidence. To see several of the for-profit schools hitting the earnings wall though, that's an epidemic. And epidemics aren't easy to fix. The industry's faithful investors may want to batten down the hatches too, because the red flags more »