Boston, MA 02/21/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Strayer Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) has again managed to show that there is money to be made in the education sector. The for-profit post-secondary education service provider released its fourth quarter results.
Better Than Expected:
The fourth quarter results managed to beat the analysts. Strayer Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) reported revenues of $124.1 million against estimates of $119.32 million. Revenues were down by 13% over $141.9 million declared for the same period last year. The fourth quarter EPS of $1.32 was also on higher side against analysts’ expectation of $0.98. This was inspite of a fall in enrollments for the winter term of 2014. Enrollments decreased to 41,098 students as compared to 47,926 students last year for the winter term. New student enrollment decreased by 2% and continuing student enrollment by 17%. This means that many students did not choose to complete their education in the for-profit university.
Future Headwinds:
For-profit universities like Strayer Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA), face a lot of difficulties on account of their business model. People do not want education to be treated as a business. As the industry is still new, companies have not been able to establish their brands. There is also dependence on foreign students, particularly from China and India. Many countries are actively seeking students from these two countries and there is stiff competition both from within one country as well as from other countries. Many in the industry also feel that the U.S. government is not doing enough to attract foreign students. But there is also opposition from locals to the influx of foreign students. In spite of all this competition is increasing. An established competitor, Nord Anglia Education Inc (NYSE:NORD) has filed an application with the U.S. SEC. It plans to tap the markets to generate funds for funding and growth. The company already has more than 17,000 students with average revenue per student of $26,600 in 2013.
With such strong competition, can Strayer Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) continue to deliver strong results?
