Below are the three companies in the Education Services industry with the highest debt to EBITDA ratios. This ratio indicates how many years of EBITDA would be necessary in order to pay back all the debt (assuming Debt and EBITDA are constant). Typically, this ratio is considered to be alarming when it is greater than 3.0 but this can vary and should be looked at within the context of the industry.
Princeton Review (NASDAQ:REVU) is highest with a debt to EBITDA ratio of 8.4. The Princeton Review, Inc. and its subsidiaries provide courses that prepare students for college, graduate school and other admissions tests. The Company offers these courses at various locations as well as over the Internet. The Princeton Review also authors content for various books and software products published by third parties and operates several Websites.
Over the past year, Princeton Review has traded in a range of $0.10 to $1.37 and is now at $0.12, 20% above that low. Over the past week, the 200-day moving average (MA) has gone down 4.5% while the 50-day MA has declined 2.4%.
Archipelago Learning (NASDAQ:ARCL) is next with a debt to EBITDA ratio of 4.1.
There is potential upside of 7.4% for shares of Archipelago Learning based on a current price of $9.78 and an average consensus analyst price target of $10.50. Archipelago Learning shares have support at the 200-day moving average (MA) of $9.36 and additional support at the 50-day MA of $9.26.
Finishing up the top three is Education Management (NASDAQ:EDMC), with a debt to EBITDA ratio of 2.3. Thus far today, Education Management has traded 12,000 shares, vs. average volume of 113,000 shares per day. The stock has outperformed the Dow (1.7% to the Dow's -0.5%) and outperformed the S&P 500 (1.7% to the S&P's -0.5%) during today's trading.