UPDATE 1-ITT lowers bottom end of 2008 profit target

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SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 22 (Reuters) - ITT Educational Services Inc (ESI.N: Quote, Profile, Research) lowered the bottom end of its profit target range for fiscal 2008 on Friday, citing uncertainty over student loans and the broader credit market.

ITT said the lower end of its profit expectation was now $4.10 per share, down from $4.50, and resulting in a revised range of between $4.10 and $4.60 per share.

The Carmel, Indiana-based company, which offers a range of technology-focused degrees, gets a large portion of its revenue from student loans.

ITT said that 16.7 percent of private loans to its students made in 2007 were classified as subprime and that such loans accounted for 4.8 percent of its revenue.

It also said its bad-debt expense as percentage of revenue in 2008 could exceed its historical range of 1 percent to 3 percent if internally funded student financing as a percentage of revenue equaled that of subprime private student loans last year.

"As a result of this uncertainty and the general uncertainty in the credit markets, the company has decided to revise the low end of the range of its internal goal," ITT said in a statement.

ITT shares have fallen 45 percent over the past three months amid worries over a slowing U.S. economy. The stock fell 2.8 percent on Friday to close to $58.47 on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Scott Hillis; Editing by Braden Reddall;/Andre Grenon)