Why Bridgepoint Is Poised to Bounce Back

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, for-profit educator Bridgepoint Education (NYSE: BPI  ) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Bridgepoint and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Bridgepoint facts

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Headquarters (founded)	San Diego, Calif. (1999)
Market Cap	$563.3 million
Industry	Education services
Trailing-12-Month Revenue	$968.2 million
Management	Co-Founder/CEO Andrew Clark CFO Daniel Devine
Return on Equity (average, past 3 years)	52.3%
Cash/Debt	$392.9 million/$0
Competitors	Apollo Group� Corinthian Colleges� DeVry�

Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 94% of the 497 members who have rated Bridgepoint believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.

Earlier today, one of those Fools, bes0m3b0dy, tapped Bridgepoint as a particularly enticing bargain opportunity:

The main raincloud over this stock is Ashford University losing its accreditation. ... Though I do not claim to predict the outcome of this situation, the stock is worth at least $18 even if enrollment at Ashford is more than cut in half. At a price of $10.47 this stock is such a bargain that there is a large margin of safety: the "worst-case" scenario of Ashford losing its accreditation means that revenues may slowly decline for a few years then fall precipitously (assuming management does absolutely nothing), but with the current cash position, Bridgepoint's stock is already massively depressed. The risk-reward on this one is quite favorable.

If you want market-thumping returns, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Of course, despite a strong four-star rating, Bridgepoint may not be your top choice.

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