(RealTimeTraders.com) - Wednesday, USB Piper Jaffray maintains its Underperform rating on DeVry Inc. (DV) and raised estimates. Analyst Mark Marostica said that the company’s 2003-fourth quarter earnings per share (EPS) $0.17 missed estimates by $0.02 and added that the company incurred a non-recurring pre-tax charge equaling $0.02 per share.

To reflect the revenue accretion from the Ross acquisition, the analyst raised 2004 EPS estimates to $0.84 from $0.74. The brokerage believes the sequential improvement in the new undergraduate student enrollment growth rates was primarily due to the popularity of the company's business programs. On Tuesday the stock closed at $29.41.

Copyright(c) 2003 RealTimeTraders.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved