Santa Ana-based Corinthian Colleges Inc. is enjoying its best stock run-up since going public early last year, jumping more than 60% in the first three weeks of July alone.
The stock price as of the close of July 20 is also almost triple the low price of 13 7/8 recorded in September.
Corinthian Colleges is a for-profit post-secondary education company with 45 vocational and post-secondary schools in 18 states, such as Bryman and Phillips Colleges. It formerly was a 16-school division of the Irvine-based National Education Corp. The division’s five senior executives bought it from NEC for $4.7 million in 1995 and took the company public in 1999. Corinthian Colleges has bought or opened several schools since then and now has a market cap approaching $400 million.
Three of the four analysts covering the company rate it a strong buy, while a fourth calls it a moderate buy, according to Zacks Investment Research on Yahoo Finance.
Analysts Kristen Kane and Gerald Odening of Chase Manhattan Corp. said that the company has reported better-than-expected enrollment growth for six straight quarters.
“Management continues to demonstrate its ability to execute on its growth strategy,” said a report the pair issued last week. “We continue to pound the table on COCO, a proven consolidator, and the stock remains on the focus list.”
The two Chase Manhattan analysts are predicting that when Corinthian Colleges releases its fourth-quarter results in late August (for the period ended June 30), revenue will increase 26% to $43.8 million over the same quarter in 1999 while net income will increase 57% to $3.6 million.
Corinthian Colleges last week announced that its student population increased 22% to 19,464 for the fiscal year ended June 30. On a same-school basis for schools open at least one year, student population increased 13%.
David G. Moore, Corinthian’s president and chief executive officer, said in a press release that the results surpassed the company’s goals.
“These results demonstrate our ability to successfully implement our growth strategy of expanding existing campuses through enhanced marketing efforts and the introduction of new programs, opening new branch campuses and making strategic acquisitions,” Moore said. n
