Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $35.84 and last traded at $35.81, with a volume of 174142 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $35.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LAUR. UBS Group lifted their price target on Laureate Education from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Laureate Education in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Laureate Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Laureate Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Laureate Education from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.75.

Laureate Education Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 25.96 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $31.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.73.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $400.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.77 million. Laureate Education had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 22.99%. Laureate Education’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.56 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Laureate Education will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Laureate Education announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 3.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laureate Education

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAUR. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Laureate Education by 1,060.2% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,101,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,888,000 after purchasing an additional 4,661,417 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Laureate Education during the third quarter valued at approximately $54,859,000. Candriam S.C.A. grew its position in Laureate Education by 510.4% in the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 1,214,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,015,711 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in shares of Laureate Education by 113.8% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,288,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,133,000 after purchasing an additional 685,998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 22.4% in the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,503,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,669,000 after acquiring an additional 458,202 shares during the last quarter. 96.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Laureate Education

Laureate Education, Inc (NASDAQ: LAUR) is a leading global network of higher education institutions dedicated to providing undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs to a diverse student body. The company designs and delivers academic offerings through a combination of campus-based and online platforms, focusing on fields such as business, health sciences, engineering, education and hospitality management. By aligning its curriculum with regional workforce needs, Laureate aims to equip students with practical skills and industry insights that support career advancement and lifelong learning.

Through its network, Laureate operates a broad portfolio of universities and colleges, including both longstanding campus institutions and digitally native programs.