Universal Technical Institute Inc (UTI) stock analysis
Close on Nov 11, 2026Market cap $1.27BP/E 37.1Yield –
StockData Score
Prices as of Nov 11, 2026How the score works
Mixed10 of 30 checks passed
Universal Technical Institute passes 10 of the 30 checks behind our score; 6 could not be run for lack of data and count as not passed. Each dot in the shape is one check — hover it for the numbers.
- Valuation
- 0/6
- Growth
- 3/6
- Past performance
- 4/6
- Financial health
- 3/6
- Dividend
- 0/6
What stands out
Return on capital over 10%
Return on invested capital was 10.4%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.
Earnings grew over 5 years
Net income grew 51.1% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.
Revenue growing 10%+ a year
Revenue grew 25.9% a year over the last three fiscal years.
EPS growing 10%+ a year
Diluted EPS grew 43.8% a year over the last three fiscal years.
What to watch
Margin of safety under 20%
The price is 62.3% above fair value, so there is no margin of safety.
Trading above fair value
The share price of $23.00 is above our fair value estimate of $14.17.
Return on equity under 15%
Return on equity was 10.5% over the last twelve months and averaged 13.0% over five years; we look for 15% on both.
High debt
Debt is 46.5% of shareholders' equity, above the 40% we consider low.
Valuation0/6
P/E above its 5-year median
Universal Technical Institute's P/E of 37.1 is above its own 5-year median of 34.8.
P/E above the industry
Universal Technical Institute's P/E of 37.1 is above the Services-educational services median of 13.0.
EV/EBITDA above its 5-year median
Universal Technical Institute's EV/EBITDA of 15.5 is above its 5-year median of 10.0.
P/B above the industry
Universal Technical Institute's price-to-book of 3.68 is above the Services-educational services median of 2.30.
Trading above fair value
The share price of $23.00 is above our fair value estimate of $14.17.
Margin of safety under 20%
The price is 62.3% above fair value, so there is no margin of safety.
Growth3/6
Revenue growing 10%+ a year
Revenue grew 25.9% a year over the last three fiscal years.
EPS growing 10%+ a year
Diluted EPS grew 43.8% a year over the last three fiscal years.
Earnings growth not accelerating
Net income grew -45.7% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 51.1% a year.
Growing faster than the industry
Revenue grew 9.1% over the last twelve months; the Services-educational services median is 2.7%.
Guidance lowered
Universal Technical Institute lowered its FY 2026 Revenue outlook on Aug 5, 2026.
Gross margin trend
This company does not report gross profit.
Past performance4/6
Return on equity under 15%
Return on equity was 10.5% over the last twelve months and averaged 13.0% over five years; we look for 15% on both.
Return on capital over 10%
Return on invested capital was 10.4%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.
Return on equity above the industry
Universal Technical Institute's return on equity of 10.5% is above the Services-educational services median of 0.6%.
Earnings grew over 5 years
Net income grew 51.1% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.
Net margin below its 5-year average
Net margin was 3.9% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 5.2%.
Net margin above the industry
Universal Technical Institute's net margin of 3.9% is above the Services-educational services median of -3.7%.
Financial health3/6
High debt
Debt is 46.5% of shareholders' equity, above the 40% we consider low.
Debt rising against equity
Debt to equity rose from 0.1% five years ago to 46.5%.
Debt covered by cash flow
Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 46.6% of total debt.
Interest well covered
Operating income covers interest expense 11.4 times.
Short-term assets cover short-term debts
Current assets are 1.30 times current liabilities.
Bankruptcy risk in the grey zone
The Altman Z-score is 2.78; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.
Dividend0/6
No dividend
Universal Technical Institute has not paid a dividend in the last twelve months.
Yield against Treasuries
No dividend.
Yield against the market
No dividend.
Dividend stability
No dividend.
Earnings cover
No dividend.
Cash-flow cover
No dividend.
Fair value
How we estimate itOur estimate per share
$14.17
The share price is 62% above this estimate.
| Method | Multiple used | Own 5Y median | Industry median | Value per share | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 24.0× | 34.8× | 13.0× | $14.87 | 40% |
| EV/EBITDA | 9.9× | 10.0× | 9.8× | $14.75 | 35% |
| P/B | 2.4× | 2.5× | 2.3× | $14.89 | 10% |
| Earnings power | 8.7% cost of equity | – | – | $10.48 | 15% |
| Fair value | $14.17 | 100% | |||
Valuation over time
Using the earnings and balance sheet published at each date, not today's.
- P/E at month end
- Own 5-year median 34.8
- Services-educational services median 13.0
An estimate from reported numbers and market multiples, not a price target or investment advice. It can be far off for companies whose profits are about to change sharply.
Market risk
From the past year of daily prices.
Liquidity
Low risk
- Average value traded per day
- $29.66M
- Value traded per 1% price move
- $15.39M
Downside
High risk
- Typical loss in a bad month
- 46.0%
- Volatility (annualized)
- 69%
- Sharpe ratio, 1 year
- -0.39
- Beta to the S&P 500 (5Y)
- 0.75
Typical bad-month loss, week by week
Margins
Share of revenue, fiscal years 2011 to 2025
Operating margin
Net margin
Growth rates
Compound annual growth to fiscal 2025
| Per year | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years | Five-year pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | +14.0% | +25.9% | +22.7% | +8.7% | |
| Operating income | +41.7% | +55.1% | – | – | |
| Net income | +50.0% | +34.6% | +51.1% | – | |
| EPS, diluted | +50.7% | +43.8% | +86.6% | – | |
| Free cash flow | -10.1% | – | +99.1% | – |
Returns and balance sheet
10 fiscal years. Hover a measure to see how it is calculated.
| Measure | FY2016 | FY2020 | FY2025 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | -38.1% | 5.5% | 21.4% | |
| Return on assets | -16.7% | 2.2% | 8.0% | |
| Current ratio | 1.71 | 1.48 | 1.07 | |
| Debt to equity | – | 0.00 | 0.27 | |
| Net debt to EBITDA | – | -9.65× | -0.35× | |
| Interest coverage | -5.4× | -387.1× | 14.8× | |
| Capex to revenue | 2.2% | 3.1% | 5.0% | |
| Diluted shares | 24M | 30M | 56M |
Where the cash went
Fiscal 2021 to 2025, five years combined
Universal Technical Institute generated $333.59M from operations and spent $263.72M on capital expenditure, dividends and share buybacks. 100% of that went back into the business.
DuPont analysis
Return on equity split into margin, efficiency and leverage
| Fiscal year | Net margin | Asset turnover | Equity multiplier | Return on equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | 7.5% | 1.06× | 2.67× | 21.4% |
| FY2024 | 5.7% | 0.99× | 3.05× | 17.3% |
| FY2023 | 2.0% | 0.94× | 2.93× | 5.6% |
| FY2022 | 6.2% | 0.79× | 2.64× | 12.8% |
| FY2021 | 4.4% | 0.70× | 2.61× | 8.0% |
| FY2020 | 2.7% | 0.84× | 2.45× | 5.5% |
| FY2019 | -2.4% | 1.20× | 2.29× | -6.5% |
| FY2018 | -10.3% | 1.14× | 2.20× | -25.9% |
| FY2017 | -2.5% | 1.14× | 2.18× | -6.2% |
| FY2016 | -13.7% | 1.21× | 2.29× | -38.1% |
Piotroski F-Score
Nine tests of profitability, balance sheet and efficiency, fiscal 2025 against fiscal 2024
- ProfitableNet income above zero$63.02M
- Cash generatingOperating cash flow above zero$97.33M
- Return on assets improvedROA up on the prior year5.7% → 8.5%
- Earnings backed by cashOperating cash flow above net income$97.33M vs $63.02M
- Less leverageLong-term debt to assets fell16.5% → 10.2%
- Better liquidityCurrent ratio rose1.08 → 1.07
- No dilutionShare count did not rise51M → 56M
- Gross margin improvedGross margin up on the prior year– → –
- More efficientAsset turnover rose0.99 → 1.12
See a number that looks wrong?