Sterne Agee Maintains Neutral on Apollo Group, Expects 1Q Beat

Sterne Agee has published a research report on Apollo Group (NASDAQ: APOL) and expects the company to beat 1Q expectations.

In the report, Sterne Agee writes, "We expect APOL to report results ahead of consensus expectations and reiterate full year guidance of $4.1-$4.3B in revenue and operating income of $655M to $780M. Our F1Q revenue/EPS estimate of $1,175M/$1.32 compares to consensus of $1,160M/$1.18. We think FY2012 could be a [tough] EPS year for APOL and long term there is potential for 10% to 15% EPS growth. However, the current valuation (30% premium to the S&P 500) and the recent move in the stock seem to already reflect a lot of positives. As such, we are maintaining our Neutral rating on the shares. Results will be reported after the market closes on Thursday, January 5th."

Sterne Agee maintains its Neutral rating on Apollo Group, which is currently trading up $0.50 from yesterday's $53.13 closing price.