Strayer Education, Inc.

Strayer Education, Inc. (STRA - Analyst Report) delivered robust fourth-quarter and year-end results in mid-February. The company’s fourth-quarter earnings and revenues climbed 28% each on a year-over-year basis.

Company Description

Strayer Education, an education services holding company, owns Strayer University and certain other assets. The company’s mission is to make higher education achievable and convenient for working adults in today’s economy.

Strayer offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business administration, accounting, information technology, education, health care, and public administration to more than 44,000 working adult students at 60 campuses in 12 states, Washington, D.C. and worldwide via the Internet.

Founded in 1892, Strayer University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

Higher Estimates

The company has seen analysts boost forecasts. Analyst estimates for 2009 are at $6.99 per share, up from $6.95 over the past 60 days. For 2010, projections have been steady over the past 3 months at $8.61 per share.

Quarterly Results Reflect Solid Growth

The company posted record results in its fourth-quarter and full-year report. Earnings per share of $1.71 topped the year-prior $1.34 and beat the consensus estimate by a penny. Fourth-quarter revenues jumped 28% year-over-year to $114.3 million thanks to a 5% tuition increase.

"We are pleased with both our fourth quarter and year-end financial results," said Robert S. Silberman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Strayer Education, Inc. "We had a successful start to 2009 with the opening of new campuses in Augusta, Georgia and Huntsville, Alabama. We look forward to our new campus openings for the 2009 spring term in three new Strayer markets: Allentown, Pennsylvania; Charleston, West Virginia; and Salt Lake City, Utah."

Higher Income

Strayer hiked its annual divided to $2 per share from $1.50 not too long ago. The new payout translates into a quarterly dividend of 50 cents per share, an increase from 37.5 cents.

The company’s dividend yield of 1.2% stands above the industry average as most companies within Strayer’s industry pay no income.

Favorable Industry Comparisons

Strayer boasts a return on equity (ROE) of 46%, surging past the industry average of 12%. Equally as impressive is the fact that Strayer’s balance sheet shows no debt.