Increased dividend to $0.75 from $0.50 for shareholders of record on November 24.

Strayer is flat in 2009, underperforming major U.S. indices. The stock trades at an expensive price-to-earnings ratio of 32 and offers a dividend yield below 1%. Strayer will capitalize on recessionary pressures as Americans seek to broaden their skills in order to appeal to employers.

As unemployment rises, so does enrollment for colleges. And this for-profit college is one of the best-positioned to profit as a result.

These companies, not unlike Sallie Mae (SLM) and the Apollo (APOL) / Strayer (STRA) contingent are all in Obama's cross hairs. These are companies that are viewed at best as friction and a tax on the system and at worse, actual taxpayer rip-offs.

Cramer said he preferred Bridgepoint(BPI Quote) to Strayer(STRA Quote). "Strayer's been a leader," he said, but Bridgepoint is "the overlook one" and " the cheapest." ("Stop Trading!" 6-2-09)

Mandel, who runs Lone Pine Capital, observed that great franchises are valued cheaply now relative to "struggling" economically sensitive stocks that are in vogue as recovery plays. Mandel said Strayer (STRA), a leading for-profit education company, has great management and enormous growth potential. He conceded that the stock, at 25 times estimated earnings, isn't cheap, but that it "will be a far larger business 10 years from now."

33%

gaining

Now the incredible collapse of anything educational -- all of these schools that needed cheap student loans -- is shocking in its tailspin. Why should we think that Apollo Group (APOL) bottoms or DeVry (DV) or Strayer (STRA) or Career Education (CECO)?

BUY

Seems to be manipulated.

40x earnings? Wake up one day and this stock will be under $100.