Holy Family University Announces A- Rating from S&P Global Ratings

“Securing a strong issuer credit rating from Standard & Poor’s is an important step in the growth of Holy Family University, and is a validation of our vision and strategy to provide a valuable education," said Holy Family President Anne M. Prisco, Ph.D.

S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'A-' issuer credit rating (ICR), with an outlook of stable, to Holy Family University, a private Catholic institution and the lowest-priced private college in Philadelphia. An ICR reflects the obligor's general creditworthiness. The rating is not specific to a given debt issue as it does not consider the security and other credit and legal characteristics for a given debt issue.

“Securing a strong issuer credit rating from Standard & Poor’s is an important step in the growth of Holy Family University, and is a validation of our vision and strategy to provide a valuable education," said Holy Family President Anne M. Prisco, Ph.D. "This rating ensures that the value of an education at Holy Family University will continue to increase, affirms our standing, adds stability to the university’s financial goals, and enables us to invest in new programs and initiatives that will advance our mission. In this climate of financial uncertainty for many smaller, private institutions, we are proud to be in an even stronger financial position to further serve our students and our community. Holy Family University's strong financial standing and its practices are among the characteristics that drew me to the university.”

S&P assessed Holy Family University's enterprise profile as strong, characterized by stable enrollment, solid retention, and moderate discounting. S&P also assessed Holy Family University's financial profile as strong, with most of the university's debt scheduled to amortize in the next 10 years and excellent operating margins driven by growth in net tuition revenue.

“Our ratings increase was in direct relation to our solid financial strategy, ability to be nimble and agile during the transition to virtual learning, and to successfully moving toward our goal of refinancing our long-term debt,” said Eric Nelson, Holy Family University’s chief financial officer. "While other schools may have had to remain stagnant during the pandemic, being on strong financial footing allowed us to make capital improvements on our campus over the past two years."

The long-term rating reflects the S&P assessment of Holy Family University in three key areas:

• Track record of positive operating results, including a fiscal 2021 surplus of $11.4 million, which has supported balance sheet growth;
• Consistent growth in net tuition revenue, due to relatively stable discounting around 35%; and
• Stable full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment, with modest growth in recent years and a small decline in fall 2021, despite the university's location in a highly competitive region with challenging demographic trends.

Holy Family University was previously rated by Fitch at BBB-.