One-glance verdict
Within fair range
$18.64 our estimate vs market $20.41
Wall Street consensus: $40.83 (119.0% higher than our fair-value estimate)
9% above our estimate
Fundamentals snapshot
Universal Technical Institute, Inc.
UTI · NYQ · Consumer Defensive · Education & Training Services
Current price
$20.41
52-week range
$19.52 - $51.34
Market cap
$1.12B
Balance sheet
Watch
14.82x Strong cushion
Net debt $188.86M. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
3 Rewards
3 Risks
3 rewards · 3 risks
- Reward Revenue grew 5.7% last year.
- Reward Returns 10.5% on equity, ahead of 20% of its peers.
- Risk Stock trades 3.5% above its 5-year average P/E.
- Risk Operating margin compressed from 5.3% to 2.0% over 3 years.
What this company does
Universal Technical Institute, Inc.
Universal Technical Institute runs technical schools that train students for skilled, hands-on jobs like auto mechanics, welders, and healthcare assistants. The company makes money primarily from the tuition students pay to attend these programs. This matters because when the economy needs more skilled trade workers, more students are likely to enroll, which can increase the company's sales.
How the company got here
Universal Technical Institute (UTI) was founded in 1965 in Phoenix, Arizona, starting with just a handful of students learning about automotive transmissions. Over the years, it grew by adding more programs like diesel and collision repair, and by opening new campuses across the country. A major turning point was becoming a publicly traded company in 2003, which helped it expand further. More recently, UTI has been buying other schools, like MIAT College of Technology for aviation and energy training, and Concorde Career Colleges to enter the healthcare field, transforming from a focused transportation school into a broader provider of technical education.
What it actually does
Think of Universal Technical Institute as a collection of career schools that train people for hands-on jobs. Instead of a four-year degree, students enroll in programs that are designed to be completed more quickly to learn specific skills for careers as technicians. The company offers a variety of programs including automotive, diesel, motorcycle, and marine repair, as well as skilled trades like welding and HVACR (heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration). It has also expanded into healthcare training, offering programs for roles like dental assistants and nurses.
UTI
This is the company's original and largest business, focused on training for transportation and skilled trades. Students pay tuition to attend programs at campuses across the country, which operate under brand names like UTI, NASCAR Technical Institute, and MIAT College of Technology. This segment provides the majority of the company's revenue (the total money it brings in from sales). The training is very hands-on, preparing students for jobs as mechanics and technicians in fields like automotive, diesel, welding, and aviation.
Concorde
This part of the company is focused entirely on healthcare education and became part of UTI through an acquisition. Students pay to enroll in programs at Concorde Career College campuses to train for in-demand jobs in fields like nursing, dental hygiene, and medical assisting. This segment represents a smaller but growing portion of the company's overall business. By adding Concorde, UTI diversified its offerings beyond skilled trades into the expanding healthcare sector.
What management is betting on now
The company's current strategy, which they call their "North Star Strategy," is focused on growth and diversification. A key part of this plan is to open several new campuses each year for both their UTI and Concorde divisions to reach more students in new locations. They are also adding new programs at existing schools, especially in high-demand fields like healthcare and skilled trades, to attract a wider range of students. Management is aiming to increase revenue (the money the company earns from its services) and improve profitability by making their operations more efficient as they expand.
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Loading price history…
Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
FY2024 Q4
$60.01M
FY2025 Q1
$19.62M
FY2025 Q2
$-11.74M
FY2025 Q3
$6.85M
FY2025 Q4
$40.62M
FY2026 Q1
$-19.16M
FY2026 Q2
$-26.43M
FY2026 Q3
$-17.91M
Revenue
$218.91M
Net income
$2.28M
Diluted EPS
0.04
Operating cash flow
$10.33M
Free cash flow
$-17.91M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$221.40M
Net income
$433.00K
Diluted EPS
0.01
Operating cash flow
$3.98M
Free cash flow
$-26.43M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$220.84M
Net income
$12.83M
Diluted EPS
0.23
Operating cash flow
$3.08M
Free cash flow
$-19.16M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$222.44M
Net income
$18.76M
Diluted EPS
0.33
Operating cash flow
$57.10M
Free cash flow
$40.62M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$204.30M
Net income
$10.66M
Diluted EPS
0.19
Operating cash flow
$18.05M
Free cash flow
$6.85M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$207.45M
Net income
$11.45M
Diluted EPS
0.21
Operating cash flow
$-789.00K
Free cash flow
$-11.74M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$201.43M
Net income
$22.15M
Diluted EPS
0.40
Operating cash flow
$22.96M
Free cash flow
$19.62M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$196.36M
Net income
$18.84M
Diluted EPS
0.35
Operating cash flow
$67.53M
Free cash flow
$60.01M
Fetching…
Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $18.64 vs current price $20.41
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $40.83 (119.0% higher than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $18.64 a share — about 8.7% away from today's price of $20.41, so the stock currently looks fairly priced.
Is it drowning in debt?
Watch
Net debt $188.9M. Interest coverage 14.8x.
Net debt
$188.86M
Interest coverage
14.82x
Universal Technical Institute, Inc.'s profit covers its interest bill about 14.8 times over. which is stronger than most peers shown here.
Watch
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
UTI
BASELINE
Universal Technical Institute, Inc.
Total debt $359.47M Interest coverage 14.82x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $228.10M Interest coverage 8.54x -42% vs UTI Carries about 1.7x less debt cushion than UTI.
Total debt $113.77M Interest coverage 34.88x +135% vs UTI Carries about 2.4x more debt cushion than UTI.
Total debt $104.21M Interest coverage 75,830.25x +511,649% vs UTI Carries about 5117.5x more debt cushion than UTI.
What you should know
The case for and against UTI
3 Rewards
3 Risks
Rewards
-
Revenue grew 5.7% last year.
-
Returns 10.5% on equity, ahead of 20% of its peers.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 4/10 years.
Risks
-
Stock trades 3.5% above its 5-year average P/E.
-
Operating margin compressed from 5.3% to 2.0% over 3 years.
-
Insider ownership is only 2.5% (peer median: 3.0%).
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
33.46x
Forward P/E
21.95x
P/B
3.27x
P/S
1.27x
EV/EBITDA
16.17x
PEG ratio
1.84x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
55.1%
Operating margin
2.0%
Net margin
3.9%
ROE
10.5%
ROA
3.5%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
1.04x
Current ratio
1.30x
Quick ratio
1.11x
Total debt
$359.47M
Total cash
$170.61M
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$883.60M
Revenue 5Y CAGR
25.7%
EPS TTM
0.61
EPS 5Y CAGR
43.8%
Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$74.51M
Free CF TTM
$55.35M
FCF margin
6.3%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
—
Payout ratio
0.0%
Last ex-div date
2016-03-17