Apollo Education Rises Despite Missed Earnings

Apollo Education Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) reported its fiscal first-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Monday. The company had $0.29 in earnings per share (EPS) on $586.0 million in revenue. That compared to consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters of $0.31 in EPS on revenue of $610.42 million. The same period from the previous year had EPS of $0.46 and $714.5 million in revenue.

The fiscal first-quarter University of Phoenix New Degreed Enrollment totaled 24,500, and Degreed Enrollment was 176,900, compared to New Degreed Enrollment of 39,600 and Degreed Enrollment of 227,400 for the first quarter of the previous year.

On the books, cash and cash equivalents totaled $755.7 million, compared to $794.2 million at the end of August 2015. Total debt outstanding was $43.3 million at the close of the first quarter.
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Greg Cappelli, CEO of Apollo, commented:

Apollo is taking the necessary steps to enhance long-term shareholder value through a series of strategic actions which include transforming University of Phoenix into a higher retaining, more trusted provider of career relevant higher education, continued expansion of our international network, and a commitment to efficiency. The University of Phoenix team is implementing major components of its transformational plan as quickly as possible, and although this is having a near-term negative impact on revenue, we believe speed of execution will help the University return to stability more quickly. Apollo Global continues to expand and grow its network through a combination of high quality acquisitions and organic growth and is on-target for a record year. Finally, we have committed to incremental cost reductions in order to preserve our operating margin during this transformational period.

Shares of Apollo closed Friday down 1.6% at $6.59, with a consensus analyst price target of $9.50 and a 52-week trading range of $6.47 to $28.66. Following the release of the earnings report, the stock is up 10% at $7.25 in early trading indications Monday.