Corinthian Colleges Inc.

Corinthian Colleges Inc. (COCO - Snapshot Report) is rapidly approaching its earnings release and shares are showing bullish activity.

Company Description

Corinthian Colleges, Inc. is one of the largest post-secondary education companies in North America, operating colleges the U.S. and Canada. The Company's mission is to help students prepare for careers that are in demand or to advance in their chosen career.

Corinthian offers diploma programs and associate's, bachelor's and master's degrees in a variety of fields, concentrating on careers in health care, business, criminal justice, transportation maintenance, trades and technology.

Earnings Less than a Week Away

On Jan 27 the company will report its second-quarter results for fiscal 2009. The consensus estimate has climbed slightly, from 14 cents to 15 cents per share over the past 3 months.

Corinthian has beat or met expectations in each of the past 4 quarters.

Growth and Valuation

Full-year estimates are showing excellent growth rates. The full-year 2009 consensus of 59 cents and full-year 2010 consensus of 87. These estimates forecast year-over-year growth of 38% and 48%, respectively.

At first glance the stock looks quite expensive, with a trailing P/E of 39 times earnings. However, considering the company's 20% long-term growth rate, the PEG ratio is 1.5, near the industry average of 1.4.

Also the forward P/E ratio its just under 20 times earnings.

The Chart

Shares of COCO had been range bound until recently, trading closing between just above $16 to just below $15. However, the stock recently broke out of the channel and have been above the previous resistance for several sessions. Take a look at the chart below.