Sectors & Industries Consumer DefensiveEducation & Training Services
Best Education Stocks to Buy Now (2026)
Top education stocks in 2026 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.

Industry: Education & Training Serv...

Overview Zen Rating Price Value Growth Financials

Momentum Sentiment Forecast Dividends Due Diligence

Education is Zen Rated A and is the 23rd ranked industry out of 145 stock market industries

Ticker	Company	Market Cap	ROE	ROA	ROCE	ROIC	D/E	Current Ratio	Gross Margin	Profit Margin	Operating Margin
STRA	STRATEGIC EDUCATION INC	$1.79B	7.70%	6.10%	9.74%	55.20%	0.24	1.28	49.00%	10.00%	13.99%
AFYA	AFYA LTD	$1.30B	16.20%	8.00%	18.46%	33.40%	0.93	0.98	65.00%	20.10%	37.52%
APEI	AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC	$827.21M	8.30%	4.40%	11.64%	12.90%	0.88	2.84	54.20%	3.70%	7.71%
EDU	NEW ORIENTAL EDUCATION & TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC	$8.55B	10.00%	4.80%	11.63%	15.30%	1.05	1.57	55.30%	7.40%	10.72%
MH	MCGRAW HILL INC	$2.69B	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	6.28	0.83	N/A	N/A	N/A
PRDO	PERDOCEO EDUCATION CORP	$2.15B	16.30%	12.50%	20.12%	32.90%	0.28	5.06	76.70%	18.90%	26.39%
CVSA	COVISTA INC	$3.49B	17.80%	9.20%	17.19%	34.20%	0.90	0.68	57.40%	13.40%	19.77%
TAL	TAL EDUCATION GROUP	$6.11B	7.80%	4.90%	9.63%	17.80%	0.69	2.07	55.20%	9.90%	13.12%
PXED	PHOENIX EDUCATION PARTNERS INC	$1.04B	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.95	1.88	N/A	N/A	N/A
LAUR	LAUREATE EDUCATION INC	$4.75B	26.40%	13.70%	23.63%	35.80%	0.86	0.67	28.30%	16.50%	24.07%
DAO	YOUDAO INC	$1.20B	-5.30%	6.10%	-19.47%	70.10%	-1.98	0.59	44.30%	1.80%	3.16%
LGCY	LEGACY EDUCATION INC	$176.58M	19.50%	11.80%	20.57%	28.30%	0.59	2.98	46.50%	11.00%	16.17%
COUR	COURSERA INC	$1.02B	-8.10%	-5.20%	-7.15%	27.20%	0.57	2.51	54.60%	-6.70%	-6.06%
LINC	LINCOLN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CORP	$1.18B	10.80%	4.40%	7.52%	5.60%	1.47	0.86	60.40%	3.90%	5.69%
LOPE	GRAND CANYON EDUCATION INC	$4.39B	28.20%	21.20%	31.71%	50.70%	0.33	3.65	53.20%	19.50%	25.30%
SKIL	SKILLSOFT CORP	$36.79M	-264.60%	-13.40%	-13.67%	-18.60%	224.07	0.85	74.00%	-26.00%	-16.55%
LRN	STRIDE INC	$3.63B	21.40%	14.00%	20.47%	26.70%	0.49	7.27	39.30%	12.70%	16.95%
GHC	GRAHAM HOLDINGS CO	$4.58B	6.50%	3.70%	7.96%	9.90%	0.74	1.75	29.90%	6.00%	11.35%
GOTU	GAOTU TECHEDU INC	$511.13M	-20.80%	-5.80%	-16.75%	-17.00%	3.95	0.94	67.40%	-5.30%	-5.33%
KLC	KINDERCARE LEARNING COMPANIES INC	$389.27M	-7.70%	-1.80%	1.92%	1.60%	3.17	0.71	22.30%	-2.60%	2.43%
HERE	HERE GROUP LTD	$243.14M	74.20%	36.10%	49.97%	-660.80%	0.38	4.75	77.40%	38.20%	40.89%
KIDZ	CLASSOVER HOLDINGS INC	$1.54M	N/A	-16.30%	-5.12%	-9.10%	3.19	1.37	57.80%	-53.20%	-27.85%
UTI	UNIVERSAL TECHNICAL INSTITUTE INC	$1.89B	17.00%	6.90%	12.64%	11.10%	1.48	1.14	49.60%	6.30%	9.11%
CHGG	CHEGG INC	$65.96M	-67.90%	-27.60%	-72.63%	-45.60%	1.32	0.86	59.60%	-27.40%	-26.41%
YQ	17 EDUCATION & TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC	$29.71M	-45.80%	-32.30%	-48.84%	-126.20%	0.44	3.10	43.40%	-159.30%	-159.29%
BTCT	BTC DIGITAL LTD	$9.62M	-19.10%	-17.40%	-14.35%	-21.00%	0.02	75.21	-6.90%	-43.40%	-42.93%
COE	51TALK ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP	$145.94M	N/A	-20.60%	45.53%	21.60%	-3.71	0.68	75.30%	-13.10%	-12.19%
VSA	VISIONSYS AI INC	$1.12M	N/A	-127.10%	25.02%	32.10%	-1.03	0.00	40.40%	-69.80%	-67.27%
EEIQ	EPICQUEST EDUCATION GROUP INTERNATIONAL LTD	$4.20M	-34.80%	-9.90%	-14.37%	-30.70%	1.29	1.83	66.30%	-27.20%	-27.13%
EDTK	SKILLFUL CRAFTSMAN EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY LTD	$15.77M	-35.20%	-22.70%	-46.39%	-28.40%	0.16	0.33	169.50%	-728.80%	-769.37%
FCHL	FITNESS CHAMPS HOLDINGS LTD	$3.76M	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	-12.55	0.80	N/A	N/A	N/A
GNS	GENIUS GROUP LTD	$58.66M	-67.80%	-46.40%	-46.86%	-72.60%	0.45	0.86	34.20%	-658.90%	-610.73%
GSUN	GOLDEN SUN TECHNOLOGY GROUP LTD	$8.29M	-101.80%	-24.80%	-35.64%	-49.80%	1.63	1.20	2.30%	-14.30%	-13.39%
IH	IHUMAN INC	$97.08M	11.00%	7.80%	11.38%	86.70%	0.39	3.46	67.90%	12.50%	13.31%
JZ	JIANZHI EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY GROUP CO LTD	$2.56M	-236.10%	-66.80%	-255.39%	-150.00%	2.48	0.90	14.20%	-146.40%	-113.82%
MYND	MYNDAI INC	$19.31M	-185.50%	-28.80%	-39.90%	-49.40%	35.02	0.94	21.10%	-40.30%	-19.84%
YOUL	YOULIFE GROUP INC	$75.29M	N/A	-2.00%	2.32%	3.30%	-1.10	1.82	14.30%	-0.60%	0.61%
RYET	RUANYUN EDAI TECHNOLOGY INC	$34.59M	-1,010.80%	-7.10%	47.95%	-12.70%	-39.44	0.67	56.70%	-5.90%	-3.63%
STG	SUNLANDS TECHNOLOGY GROUP	$60.78M	51.90%	18.10%	34.18%	51.30%	1.32	1.08	86.00%	18.90%	21.77%
LXEH	LIXIANG EDUCATION HOLDING CO LTD	$4.41M	-14.80%	-7.20%	-9.62%	-18.10%	0.77	1.44	-25.50%	-97.80%	-87.67%
GV	VISIONARY HOLDINGS INC	$3.07M	-138.50%	-20.90%	-202.98%	-16.60%	11.42	0.07	28.00%	-314.10%	-213.91%
UDMY	UDEMY INC	$695.11M	1.70%	0.60%	4.17%	-30.50%	1.94	1.31	65.60%	0.50%	1.15%
FEDU	FOUR SEASONS EDUCATION (CAYMAN) INC	$21.79M	1.80%	1.20%	1.21%	1.30%	0.44	1.77	21.50%	3.40%	2.78%
WAFU	WAH FU EDUCATION GROUP LTD	$7.46M	-4.30%	-2.90%	-3.10%	-22.20%	0.34	3.88	41.70%	-7.50%	-5.90%
AACG	ATA CREATIVITY GLOBAL	$30.83M	-13.00%	-1.90%	-16.54%	8.10%	6.86	0.33	51.40%	-3.00%	-4.51%
AMBO	AMBOW EDUCATION HOLDING LTD	$5.18M	18.10%	7.10%	8.61%	10.60%	1.52	2.20	54.80%	14.40%	14.42%

Education Stocks FAQ

What are the best education stocks to buy right now in Mar 2026?

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:

1. Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA)

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) is the #1 top education stock out of 46 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 Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: A, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: B.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) has a Due Diligence Score of 62, which is 36 points higher than the education industry average of 26.

STRA passed 21 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Strategic Education has seen its stock lose -1.4% over the past year, overperforming other education stocks by 20 percentage points.

Strategic Education has an average 1 year price target of $105.00, an upside of 33.13% from Strategic Education's current stock price of $78.87.

Strategic Education stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Strategic Education, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 100% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

2. Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA)

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) is the #2 top education stock out of 46 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: A, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: B.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) has a Due Diligence Score of 54, which is 28 points higher than the education industry average of 26.

AFYA passed 21 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Afya has seen its stock lose -12.65% over the past year, overperforming other education stocks by 8 percentage points.

Afya has an average 1 year price target of $17.75, an upside of 27.88% from Afya's current stock price of $13.88.

Afya stock has a consensus Sell recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 4 analysts covering Afya, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 75% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 25% have issued a Strong Sell.

3. American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI)

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) is the #3 top education stock out of 46 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: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) has a Due Diligence Score of 41, which is 15 points higher than the education industry average of 26.

APEI passed 13 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. American Public Education has seen its stock return 98.44% over the past year, overperforming other education stocks by 120 percentage points.

American Public Education has an average 1 year price target of $46.00, an upside of 0.57% from American Public Education's current stock price of $45.74.

American Public Education stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 6 analysts covering American Public Education, 50% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 33.33% have issued a Buy, 16.67% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

What are the education stocks with highest dividends?

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

1. Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA)

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) has an annual dividend yield of 3.04%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the education industry average of 1.77%. 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 43.1% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

2. Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO)

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) has an annual dividend yield of 1.69%, which is the same as the education industry average of 1.77%.

Perdoceo Education's dividend payout ratio of 22.7% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

3. Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA)

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) has an annual dividend yield of 1.67%, which is the same as the education industry average of 1.77%.

Afya's dividend payout ratio of 15.5% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Why are education stocks down?

Education stocks were down -0.3% in the last day, and down -1.95% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why education stocks are down.

What are the most undervalued education stocks?

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:

1. Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA)

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) 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.

Afya has a valuation score of 71, which is 46 points higher than the education industry average of 25. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Afya's stock has dropped -12.65% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the education industry by 8 percentage points.

2. Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED)

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 -25 points higher than the education industry average of 25. 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".

3. Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA)

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) 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.

Strategic Education has a valuation score of 86, which is 61 points higher than the education industry average of 25. It passed 6 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Strategic Education's stock has dropped -1.4% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the education industry by 20 percentage points.

Are education stocks a good buy now?

50% of education stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect education stocks to rise by 33.44% over the next year.

4.17% of education stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 29.17% of education stocks are rated B (Buy), 62.5% are rated C (Hold), 4.17% are rated D (Sell), and 0% are rated F (Strong Sell).

What is the average p/e ratio of the education & training services industry?

The average P/E ratio of the education & training services industry is 18.35x.

WallStreetZen does not provide financial advice and does not issue recommendations or offers to buy stock or sell any security.

Information is provided 'as-is' and solely for informational purposes and is not advice. WallStreetZen does not bear any responsibility for any losses or damage that may occur as a result of reliance on this data.

Sectors & Industries Consumer DefensiveEducation & Training Services
Best Education Stocks to Buy Now (2026)
Top education stocks in 2026 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.

Education Stocks FAQ

1. Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA)

2. Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA)

3. American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI)

1. Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA)

2. Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO)

3. Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA)

1. Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA)

2. Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED)

3. Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA)

Company

Stock Tools

Stock Ideas

Sectors & IndustriesConsumer DefensiveEducation & Training ServicesBest Education Stocks to Buy Now (2026)Top education stocks in 2026 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.

Education Stocks FAQ

1. Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA)

2. Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA)

3. American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI)

1. Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA)

2. Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO)

3. Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA)

1. Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA)

2. Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED)

3. Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA)

Company

Stock Tools

Stock Ideas

Sectors & Industries Consumer DefensiveEducation & Training Services
Best Education Stocks to Buy Now (2026)
Top education stocks in 2026 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.