Profits In For-Profit Education

Whether it is a late-night ad for a graphic design school, an ad in the middle of Good Eats for cooking school, or yet another ad about some IT training program that "changed a person's life", for profit-education is a fixture in the United States. The question remains, though, as to whether there is still money to be made in a sector that has had quite a long stretch of exceptional growth. 

Apollo Group (Nasdaq:APOL)
Apollo generates nearly all of its revenue through the well-known University of Phoenix program; arguably the for-profit program that comes closest to a traditional university in terms of the breadth and depth of programs it offers. The largest player by enrollment, the company has had some difficulties, as the SEC is informally investigating certain revenue recognition policies and the company has come under criticism for the quality of it academic programs.

Nevertheless, the valuation here is very appealing and even if the Department of Education tightens standards for this industry, Apollo stock should have room to move higher. 


To read the complete column: 
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/Profits-In-For-Profit-Education-APOL-CECO-DV-ESI-EDU-UTI0624.aspx