10 College Stocks to Study

I just dropped my son off at college for the first time. It was an all-day event moving him into his college dorm apartment. During the process, I checked out what other parents had bought for their sons and daughters. In terms of computers, it boiled down to two choices: either an Apple (AAPL) MacBook laptop or a Dell (DELL) laptop. When it came to printers, the choice was either a Hewlett Packard (HPQ) or a Hewlett Packard; in other words, everyone bought HP printers. Of course, everyone bought Microsoft Office, made by Microsoft (MSFT), whether they had an Apple Macintosh or a PC.

Apple Inc. has a price earnings ratio of 38.21 and a “price earnings to growth” ratio of 1.56. Now that several people have figured out a way to unlock the iPhone, the debate is on about whether this will help or hurt Apple.

Dell has a forward P/E of 17.12, and a PEG of 1.74. The credit ratings agency Fitch, kept its debt ratings at A, after the company completed its accounting investigation.

Hewlett-Packard has a P/E of 19.44, a PEG of 1.2, and a small yield of 0.7%. The stock just reported a 28.3% increase in quarterly earnings on a 15.90% increase in quarterly revenues, year over year.

Microsoft Corporation (MFST) has a P/E of 20.25, a PEG of 1.42, and a yield of 1.4%.

The purchase of clothing was another big “off to college” expenditure, and not just any clothing. Some of the popular clothing lines among college students are:

Under Armour, Inc. (UA), which develops and markets microfiber apparel, such as T-shirts, sweats, socks, and baseball caps. The stock has a P/E of 75.01 and a PEG of 2.34.

Nike Inc. (NKE), the famous footwear manufacturer, is another recipient of the clothing budget of college students’ parents. The stock has a P/E of 18.50, a PEG of 1.2, and a yield of 1.4%.

The Quiksilver Inc. (ZQK) brand of clothing is the preference of many students who enjoy snow boarding, skiing, or surfing. The stock has a P/E of 24.34 and a PEG of 1.51.

A major part of the college move is going to the college bookstore and getting the textbooks. How does $105 for a used, yes heavily used, math book sound? For a full load of classes, $500 per quarter or semester for textbooks is typical, although I’ve heard of students spending much more.

One of the beneficiaries of these expenditures is Pearson plc (PSO), the British-based publisher of textbooks and related class materials for colleges and universities, which has a P/E of 17.86, a PEG of 1.68, and a decent yield of 4%.

Another publisher of textbooks is John Wiley & Sons Inc. (JW.A), which also publishes technical journals, medical journals, and integrated online learning resources for college students. They have a P/E of 23.74, and a yield of 1.1%.

Unless you are a college student or a professor, you have probably never heard of Blackboard Inc. (BBBB), which markets and services online teaching and learning environment software. Students use Blackboard to get the class syllabus, the assignments and homework, the instructor’s PowerPoint presentations, tests, and other online resources. Blackboard also provides discussion boards, group email services, wikis and blogs. Although the stock has an extremely high P/E of 1,447, the forward P/E is 35, and the PEG is 1.9. The company has a huge share of the college and university market.

For a list of all ten of the college stocks in an Excel format which you can sort, add to, delete from, and change, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: The author owns AAPL and MSFT.