Abstract
South Africa has seen a rise in private education institutions, driven by the demand for schools that offer better education. This is evident in the rapid share price growth of two listed education companies ADvTECH Group and CURRO Holdings Ltd, between 2011 and 2017. This study aimed to investigate what factors and unique characteristics influence the share prices of these companies. New insights into this sector, such as characteristics that enhance growth in operations, reach new students, and provide a return to shareholders, could help not only the companies, but other private schools as well. A regression analysis and inductive reasoning analysis was used. The findings show firstly that the number of schools owned by the listed school companies has a strong correlation to the share price; however, after 2017, this was not the case, indicating economies of scale. Secondly, the profit per student was a significant predictor of the share prices in both companies. Lastly, the inductive reasoning analysis showed that 4 out of 10 periods, where share price volatility increased, coincided with tertiary education announcements made by the companies and resulted in an upward trending share price.