Corinthian Colleges Shares Rise on 3rd-Qtr Earnings (Update1) (Adds stock information and analyst comment in 3rd and 4th paragraphs. Updates with closing stock price.)
Santa Ana, California, April 30 (Bloomberg) -- Corinthian Colleges Inc., one of the largest operators of U.S. for-profit career colleges, rose 28 percent after it said it had better-than- expected fiscal third-quarter earnings and its revenue and enrollments increased.
Shares of the Santa Ana, California-based owner of vocational schools rose 3 5/8 to 16 3/8 in trading of 514,200, more than four times the three-month daily average. Earlier, shares touched 19 3/4.
Corinthian Colleges raised $48.6 million in February with an initial public offering at $18 a share. The stock price had fallen 29 percent to 12 3/4 yesterday. Earnings were released yesterday after trading closed. ''When you get your feet knocked out from under you, there's only one way to go but up,'' said Randall Roth, an analyst with Renaissance Capital Corp.
Corinthian Colleges said earnings before a charge quadrupled to $2.4 million, or 25 cents a share in the quarter ended March 31, from net income of $614,000, or 6 cents, a year earlier. It was expected to earn 14 cents, the average estimate of analysts surveyed by First Call Corp. Revenue rose 26 percent to $34.9 million from $27.8 million.
Corinthian Colleges, which focuses on business- administration and health-care programs, said its student population rose 14.4 percent to 16,467 in the quarter from the year-earlier quarter as it stepped up marketing. The average per- student tuition rate increased 9.6 percent.
One of Corinthian's biggest business risks is its reliance on government financial-aid programs for revenue, according to an SEC filing. About three-quarters of its students receive federal assistance
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