Strayer Education Beats Estimates But Has a Big Earnings Drop

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Strayer Education (NAS: STRA) reported earnings on Feb. 14. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Strayer Education missed estimates on revenues and beat slightly on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue dropped and GAAP earnings per share shrank significantly.


Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
 Strayer Education tallied revenue of $141.9 million. The 15 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see revenue of $145.2 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 8.9% lower than the prior-year quarter's $155.8 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at $1.47. The 14 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $1.44 per share. GAAP EPS of $1.47 for Q4 were 36% lower than the prior-year quarter's $2.31 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 45.3%, 820 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 20.2%, 890 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 11.7%, 540 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $144.1 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.59.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $552.3 million. The average EPS estimate is $4.91.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 259 members out of 326 rating the stock outperform, and 67 members rating it underperform. Among 93 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 75 give Strayer Education a green thumbs-up, and 18 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Strayer Education is hold, with an average price target of $53.17.

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The article Strayer Education Beats Estimates But Has a Big Earnings Drop originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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