UPDATE 2-Apollo says SEC begins informal probe; shares fall

* SEC begins informal probe into rev recognition practice

* Q4 adj. EPS $1.06 vs Wall St. view $1.04

* Shares fall 20.5 percent (Adds details, updates stock action)

SEATTLE, Oct 27 (Reuters) - For-profit education provider Apollo Group Inc (APOL.O) said regulatory authorities have launched an informal inquiry over its revenue recognition practices, and its shares fell 20.5 percent.

The company, which is the parent of the University of Phoenix, said on Tuesday that it intends to cooperate with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's inquiry, but did not provide more details.

Other education stocks like Corinthian Colleges Inc (COCO.O) and Career Education Corp (CECO.O) also fell after the announcement.

Apollo has run into accounting difficulties before. In 1999, the U.S. Department of Education completed a year-long review of its accounting methods for student enrollments, withdrawals and tuition payments. As a result of the review Apollo was required to pay the U.S. Department of Education and other lenders about $650,000.

The company's former chief financial officer resigned in 2007 after an investigation found errors in the way it was accounting for stock option grants.

The for-profit education industry also has faced a variety of government probes and investigations over its accounting. The SEC looked into allegations related to accounting, student populations and placement data at Career Education last year, but without taking action against the company.

Apollo's announcement about the inquiry came as it posted a drop in its fourth-quarter profit.

Its net income fell to $91.5 million or 59 cents per share, from $229.6 million or $1.43 per share a year earlier.

Excluding certain items, its earnings of $1.06 per share were above the average analyst expectation for $1.04 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue rose to about $1.08 billion from $831.4 million a year ago, the company said.

Its shares, which closed at $72.97 on the Nasdaq, fell about 20.5 percent after markets closed. Corinthian Colleges shares fell 6.5 percent in after-hours trade. (Reporting by Aarthi Sivaraman; additional reporting by Emily Chasan in New York and Amulya Nagaraj in Bangalore; Editing by Bernard Orr and Carol Bishopric)