Sectors & IndustriesConsumer DefensiveEducation & Training Services

Best Education Stocks to Buy Now (2025)

Top education stocks in 2025 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +32.52% per year, and are the best education stocks to buy now. Learn More.

According to Zen Ratings, our proprietary rating system that evaluates 115 factors proven to drive growth in stocks and assigns each stock in our system an overall letter grade as well as 7 individual Component Grades for Value, Growth, Momentum, Sentiment, Safety, Financials, and proprietary AI algorithms, the 3 best education stocks to buy right now are:

Udemy (NASDAQ:UDMY) is the #1 top education stock out of 48 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +32.52% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Udemy (NASDAQ:UDMY) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: D, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Udemy (NASDAQ:UDMY) has a Due Diligence Score of 23, which is -3 points lower than the education industry average of 26. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates UDMY as a "A".

UDMY passed 7 out of 33 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Udemy has seen its stock lose -37.16% over the past year, underperforming other education stocks by -44 percentage points.

Udemy has an average 1 year price target of $10.20, an upside of 92.09% from Udemy's current stock price of $5.31.

Udemy stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 5 analysts covering Udemy, 60% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 20% have issued a Buy, 20% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) is the #2 top education stock out of 48 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) has a Due Diligence Score of 38, which is 12 points higher than the education industry average of 26.

APEI passed 12 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. American Public Education has seen its stock return 101.85% over the past year, overperforming other education stocks by 95 percentage points.

American Public Education has an average 1 year price target of $39.14, an upside of 11.97% from American Public Education's current stock price of $34.96.

American Public Education stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 7 analysts covering American Public Education, 57.14% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 28.57% have issued a Buy, 14.29% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) is the #3 top education stock out of 48 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) has a Due Diligence Score of 66, which is 40 points higher than the education industry average of 26.

AFYA passed 26 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Afya has seen its stock lose -17.52% over the past year, underperforming other education stocks by -24 percentage points.

Afya has an average 1 year price target of $19.17, an upside of 32.64% from Afya's current stock price of $14.45.

Afya stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 3 analysts covering Afya, 66.67% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 33.33% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 4 education stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 education stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) has an annual dividend yield of 3%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the education industry average of 1.71%. Strategic Education's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Strategic Education's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Strategic Education's dividend payout ratio of 48.5% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) has an annual dividend yield of 1.73%, which is the same as the education industry average of 1.71%.

Perdoceo Education's dividend payout ratio of 22.5% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) has an annual dividend yield of 1.61%, which is the same as the education industry average of 1.71%.

Afya's dividend payout ratio of 16.5% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Education stocks were up 0.01% in the last day, and up 1.8% over the last week. Mcgraw Hill was the among the top gainers in the education & training services industry, gaining 23.92% yesterday.

McGraw Hill shares are trading higher after the company reported better-than-expected Q2 sales results and raised its FY26 sales guidance above estimates.

Based on the Valuation rating, one of the 7 components of a stocks overall Zen Ratings grade, which evaluates factors including estimated earnings yield, earnings before interest and taxes/enterprise value, cash flow yield, free cash flow to price, and price-to-earnings growth (PEG ratio), the 3 most undervalued education stocks right now are:

Stride (NYSE:LRN) is the most undervalued education stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Stride has a valuation score of 71, which is 49 points higher than the education industry average of 22. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Stride's stock has dropped -35.86% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the education industry by -42 percentage points.

Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED) is the second most undervalued education stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Phoenix Education Partners has a valuation score of 0, which is -22 points higher than the education industry average of 22. It passed 0 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates PXED a Valuation Rating of "A".

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) is the third most undervalued education stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Afya has a valuation score of 100, which is 78 points higher than the education industry average of 22. It passed 7 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Afya's stock has dropped -17.52% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the education industry by -24 percentage points.

50% of education stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect education stocks to rise by 40.39% over the next year.

3.57% of education stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 35.71% of education stocks are rated B (Buy), 50% are rated C (Hold), 7.14% are rated D (Sell), and 3.57% are rated F (Strong Sell).