STRA vs EDU vs UTI Stock Comparison

Strategic Education, New Oriental Education & Technology and Universal Technical Institute Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
STRA Strategic Education, Inc.
$77.55 +2.2% 1M -7.5% 1Y
Market cap
$1.72B
P/E
12.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.29B
Div. yield
3.09%
Education Services Consumer Discretionary
7 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Strategic Education leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Strategic Education 7, New Oriental Education & Technology 3, Universal Technical Institute 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSTRAEDUUTILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.72B $7.85B $1.22B EDU
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 12.3x 15.8x 35.6x STRA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 10.5x 10.8x 36.3x STRA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.5% +20.5% +9.1% EDU
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.5% 8.4% 3.9% STRA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 14.9% 6.9% EDU
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — -0.1x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 3.09% 2.37% 0.00% STRA
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -7.5% -13.5% -35.0% STRA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.6%/yr +19.9%/yr +25.8%/yr UTI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.2% 37.5% 72.6% STRA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 79/100 71/100 37/100 STRA

Percentile Scorecard

STRAEDUUTI

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisSTRAEDUUTI
Valuation 84 #6 of 33 78 #8 of 33 19 #27 of 33
Growth 86 #5 of 30 72 #9 of 30 55 #14 of 30
Profitability 59 #12 of 28 67 #10 of 28 30 #20 of 28
Financial Health 72 #11 of 37 69 #12 of 37 44 #21 of 37
Shareholder Returns 92 #2 of 14 69 #5 of 14 –
Overall 79 71 37
  • STRA ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services
  • EDU ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services
  • UTI ranked among 39 companies in Consumer Services

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodSTRAEDUUTISPY
1 month +2.2%-9.3%+20.0% +0.9%
3 months -11.5%-13.5%-46.0% +5.9%
6 months -1.8%-5.0%-38.6% +8.5%
Year to date -3.3%-7.9%-15.2% +13.3%
1 year -7.5%-13.5%-35.0% +12.4%
3 years -3.3%-21.4%+163.5% +88.1%
3 years, per year -1.1%-7.7%+38.2% +23.5%
5 years +13.7%+147.2%+214.8% +68.2%
5 years, per year +2.6%+19.9%+25.8% +11.0%
10 years +37.5%-1.8%+1,339.0% +263.4%
10 years, per year +3.2%-0.2%+30.6% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureSTRAEDUUTISPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.2%37.5%72.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.7%38.1%90.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.020.120.81 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.21-0.36-0.48 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -41.3%-62.9%-63.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.5%-20.2%-56.7% -0.9%
52-week high $87.62$63.51$51.19 $779.14
52-week low $72.19$44.44$18.46 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleSTRAEDUUTI
P/E now vs peer median 12.3xmedian 14.9x 15.8xmedian 14.9x 35.6xmedian 14.9x
P/S now vs peer median 1.3xmedian 1.2x 1.3xmedian 1.2x 1.4xmedian 1.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.0xmedian 9.3x —median 9.3x 14.9xmedian 9.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 10.2xmedian 14.5x 7.6xmedian 14.5x -53.4xmedian 14.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 1.8x 1.7xmedian 1.8x 3.5xmedian 1.8x
PEG now vs peer median 0.21median 0.35 0.63median 0.35 0.25median 0.35

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsSTRAEDUUTI
Revenue $1.29B $6.01B $883.60M
Gross profit – $634.59M $425.13M
Operating income $180.24M $707.08M $44.26M
Net income $134.51M $552.22M $34.30M
Free cash flow $168.59M $1.03B -$22.87M
EPS (diluted) $6.19 $3.22 $0.61
Cash & equivalents $123.76M $1.75B $130.06M
Total debt – $297.25M $160.03M
Shares (diluted) 21.74M 157.85M 55.94M
Enterprise value $1.12B -$3.18B $556.85M

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricSTRAEDUUTI
P/E 12.3x 15.8x 35.6x
P/FCF 10.2x 7.6x -53.4x
P/Operating cash flow 8.0x 7.6x 16.4x
P/S 1.3x 1.3x 1.4x
P/B 1.1x 1.7x 3.5x
P/Tangible book 1.2x 1.7x 3.8x
EV/EBITDA 7.0x – 14.9x
EV/EBIT 8.8x 7.7x 27.4x
EV/Revenue 1.2x 0.9x 1.4x
EV/FCF 9.5x 5.3x -52.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 7.4x 5.3x 16.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.21 0.63 0.25

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSTRAEDUUTI
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.5% 20.5% 9.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.1% 21.5% 17.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 1,976,823% 5.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 28.1% 18.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 14.1% 58.6% -47.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 52.4% 30.6% 45.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 16.8% 45.2% -45.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 54.3% 19.1% 59.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 26.4% 42.9% -45.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 59.4% 25.1% 141.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 29.8% 13.7% -30.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 35.8% -2.8% 30.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 35.5% 13.7% -130.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 52.2% -2.8% 3.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSTRAEDUUTI
Gross margin – 10.6% 48.1%
EBITDA margin 17.7% – 9.2%
Operating margin 14.0% 11.8% 5.0%
Pretax margin 14.3% 11.8% 5.1%
Net margin 10.5% 8.4% 3.9%
FCF margin 13.1% 17.1% -2.6%
Operating cash flow margin 16.8% 17.1% 8.4%
Return on equity 8.2% 12.4% 10.0%
Return on assets 6.5% 6.3% 3.9%
Return on invested capital – 14.9% 6.9%
Return on capital employed 10.0% 13.7% 6.5%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.7x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 1.9x 2.2x
Stock comp / revenue 1.7% – 1.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSTRAEDUUTI
Debt / assets – 3.4% 17.8%
Debt / equity – 0.1x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA – – -0.1x
Debt / FCF – 0.3x -7.0x
Liabilities / assets 21.0% 48.0% 61.7%
Equity / assets 79.0% 52.0% 38.3%
Interest coverage – – 11.4x
Current ratio 1.1x 1.6x 1.3x
Quick ratio 0.9x 0.8x 1.4x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.7x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 3.49 – 2.73

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSTRAEDUUTI
Dividend yield 3.1% 2.4% –
Net buyback yield 8.8% – –
Shareholder yield 11.9% 2.4% 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 41.1% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 32.8% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) -5.8% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -2.1% – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusSTRAEDUUTI
Forward P/E 10.5xFY2026 10.8xFY2026 36.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.38FY2026 $4.68FY2026 $0.61FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +19.4%FY2026 +31.1%FY2026 -46.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +18.7% +11.8% +23.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.39BFY2026 $6.34BFY2026 $860.77MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.2%FY2026 +12.1%FY2026 +3.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.4% +10.6% +16.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSTRAEDUUTI
Held by institutions 99.0% 31.4% 100.0%
Institutions holding 291 170 264
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.9% -5.3% +9.0%
Institutions buying 149 80 157
Institutions selling 106 65 77
Buyers to sellers 1.41 1.23 2.04

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

STRAEDUUTI
STRA 1.00 0.25 0.40
EDU 0.25 1.00 0.11
UTI 0.40 0.11 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, STRA, EDU and UTI?

New Oriental Education & Technology (EDU) is the largest by market capitalisation: Strategic Education (STRA) $1.72B, New Oriental Education & Technology (EDU) $7.85B, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) $1.22B.

Which stock is cheaper, STRA, EDU and UTI?

Strategic Education (STRA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Strategic Education (STRA) 12.3x, New Oriental Education & Technology (EDU) 15.8x, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) 35.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Strategic Education (STRA) is cheapest (Strategic Education (STRA) 10.5x, New Oriental Education & Technology (EDU) 10.8x, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) 36.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

New Oriental Education & Technology (EDU) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Strategic Education (STRA) +3.5%, New Oriental Education & Technology (EDU) +20.5%, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) +9.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Strategic Education (STRA) has the highest net margin (Strategic Education (STRA) 10.5%, New Oriental Education & Technology (EDU) 8.4%, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) 3.9%). On return on invested capital, New Oriental Education & Technology (EDU) leads (New Oriental Education & Technology (EDU) 14.9%, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) 6.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Strategic Education (STRA) returned the most: Strategic Education (STRA) -7.5%, New Oriental Education & Technology (EDU) -13.5%, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) -35.0%. Over five years, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) compounded fastest (Strategic Education (STRA) +2.6%/yr, New Oriental Education & Technology (EDU) +19.9%/yr, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) +25.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Strategic Education (STRA) has the highest dividend yield: Strategic Education (STRA) 3.09%, New Oriental Education & Technology (EDU) 2.37%, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) 0.00%. Universal Technical Institute (UTI) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Strategic Education (STRA) has been the steadiest (Strategic Education (STRA) 36.2%, New Oriental Education & Technology (EDU) 37.5%, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) 72.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, STRA, EDU and UTI?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Strategic Education (STRA) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.