Steven Cohen has stepped up his interest in ITT Educational Services, Inc. (NYSE:ESI). The billionaire investor has increased his fund’s stake from 10,953 to 1.17 million shares, according to a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As a result, SAC Capital holds approximately 5% of the company’s common stock.
Chuck Royce, the manager of Royce & Associates, is also bullish on ITT Educational Services, Inc. (NYSE:ESI). According to the fund’s latest 13F report, Royce has increased his fund’s stake by 3% to some 401,000 shares valued at $13.4 million. Another fund that is betting on this stock is Ardsley Partners. Its manager, Philip Hempleman, has increased its investment by 41% to 600,000 shares reportedly worth a little over $20 million.
ITT Educational Services, Inc. (NYSE:ESI) provides postsecondary degree programs in the United States. The company has a market cap of $725 million and does not pay a dividend. The shares are traded at a Price to Earnings (P/E) ratio of 12.32 and have a beta of 1.75, which makes them rather volatile. For the three months ending December 21, 2013, ITT Educational posted revenues of $262 million and earnings of $1.18 per diluted share. It is expected to register revenues of $251 million and earnings of $0.72 per share in the current quarter.
Steven Cohen has made some other bold investments recently. He has massively increased SAC’s stake in DeVry Education Group Inc (NYSE:DV). Whereas SAC previously held a little over 27 thousand shares, it now owns 3.17 million shares or 5% of the company’s total number of shares outstanding. Another recent move that caught our eye is the 22-fold increase in its holding of Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc (NYSE:LL). SAC Capital now holds 1.39 million shares or 5% of the common stock of the company.
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