Two analysts raise Career Education price targets
Two analysts boosted their price targets for Career Education Corp. Monday, after the for-profit education company reported its fourth-quarter income tripled and trumped Wall Street expectations, on new student enrollment.
Shares of Career Education surged $1.18, or 5 percent, to close at $24.80. The stock hit a fresh 52-week high of $25.40 earlier in the session.
On Friday Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based-based Career Education posted a profit of 35 cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, whose estimates generally exclude one-time items, predicted net income of 20 cents per share.
Jeffrey Silber of BMO Capital Markets lifted his price target to $30 from $21 and reiterated an “Outperform” rating, saying in a client note that the company managed to top his 21 cent-per-share earnings estimate as well as forecasts for new student enrollment and total population, excluding transitional schools.
Baird analyst Amy Junker added that she is encouraged by the company’s turnaround efforts, which includes the closing or sale some of its campuses and the modest expansion of its lending standards.
Junker raised her price target to $25 from $17 and kept a “Neutral” rating on the stock.
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