ITT Educational Services Inc.

Company Description

ITT Education Services provides technical education at the associates and bachelor degree levels. The company prepares adults for entry-level employment in a variety of fields. Currently, enrolment is almost 70,000 students across 37 states.

Schooling the Analysts

On Jul 23 ITT reported second-quarter results that included a 34% boost in enrolment. The 20,000 new students drove up 19% to $317 million, from $246 in the same period last year.

Earnings per share were up 56% to $1.87, from $1.20. This beat the Zacks consensus estimate by 15 cents and made the report the twelfth consecutive surprise.

Since the report analysts polled by Zacks have been quick to raise estimates. The Zacks consensus estimate for full-year 2009 is now $7.68, up from $7.16, after 14 of the 15 covering analysts raised forecasts. Estimates for nest year are currently averaging $8.93, up from $8.26.

Comparing these figures with the $5.17 that the company earned last year and you have growth rates of 49% and 16% respectively.

Optimistic Outlook

Kevin M. Modany, Chairman and CEO, said, "Interest in our programs across all six schools of study was incredibly strong during the second quarter of 2009, which led to an impressive increase in new student enrollment ... we believe that the economic conditions that are stimulating this extraordinary demand may persist throughout the remainder of 2009."

The Chart

While shares have been volatile one thing remains constant, and steady increase of full-year estimates. Each colored line represents the respective full-year estimate at that time. The black line is the share price. As you can see, estimates are off the charts.

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