ZACKS: Turnaround in For-Profit Education Sector: 3 Stocks to Buy

Career College Central Summary:

The for-profit education sector performed dismally the last couple of years on lower student demand, regulatory restrictions, serious threats to federal funding, intense scrutiny at all levels and a competitive environment.
For-profit schools are much more expensive than a community college. The cost of education in a for-profit college can sometimes be almost double that of an education in a community college. The for-profit college industry includes companies like DeVry Education Group Inc. (DV – Analyst Report), Apollo Education Group, Inc. (APOL – Analyst Report), Strayer Education, Inc. (STRA – Analyst Report), Education Management Corporation and many more.
However, with an improving economic environment, job growth and a pick-up in consumer discretionary spending – albeit slow – the sector is seeing some improvement in demand.
Also, in order to boost enrolment growth, companies are offering scholarships to make their programs more affordable and attract the American masses to the campus.
With changing times, these companies are conducting ad campaigns, investing in digital capabilities and stepping up social media efforts to increase their brand value. The for-profits are also forging corporate and community college partnerships to educate their workforce. Also, companies are improving their technology and infrastructure, increasing investments to improve the academic quality and retain students, buying complementary businesses and regularly introducing new programs and specializations to boost student outcomes.
To improve profits, companies likeDeVry and Apollo Education have resorted to aggressive cost-cutting measures through significant layoffs and campus closings.

Click through to read the full article.

ZACKS