UPDATE: Stifel Nicolaus Reduces PT to $33 on DeVry Post FQ4 Pre-Release

Stifel Nicolaus reiterated its Buy rating on DeVry DV but lowered its price target from $41 to $33. Stifel Nicolaus commented, "[T]he company pre-released that 4Q earnings would be below expectation and announced a workforce reduction program in response. Causal factors include greater use of scholarships and higher than expected operating expenses (higher student acquisition costs and negative leverage). As we have mentioned in the past, DeVry was later to enter the trough and was later in taking aggressive action to adjust to both new regulations and lower levels of enrollment. We are reducing our estimates (admittedly on incomplete information) from $3.50 to $3.16 for FY12 and from $2.90 to a hopefully conservative (if enrollment stabilizes and with planned cost cuts) $2.30 for FY13." DeVry closed at $27.56 on Monday.