Stock in ITT Educational Services Inc. shot up 6.7 percent this morning, to $77.67 a share, after the Carmel-based technical school operator reported a 26-percent increase in third quarter profit.
Net income rose to $50.2 million, and enrollment of new students soared more than 19 percent above the same period last year, as students returned to school to upgrade skills amid the weak economy.
The $1.28 in earnings per share shattered the $1.17 anticipated by analysts surveyed by Thomson/Reuters.
Stronger-than-expected earnings prompted ITT to raise its earnings forecast for the year to between $4.90 and $5 per share from its prior guidance of $4.65 to $4.75. Analysts anticipate $4.78 per share.
ITT Chairman and CEO Kevin Modany said that not only are students flocking to school, advertising rates were attractive in the quarter, a trend he expects to last into next year.
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