Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $34.37 and last traded at $34.04, with a volume of 542462 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Laureate Education from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Laureate Education in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Laureate Education in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Laureate Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 20th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Laureate Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.00.

Laureate Education Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $31.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.89. The company has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.77 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $400.20 million during 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 was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Laureate Education will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laureate Education declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 3.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Laureate Education

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LAUR. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Laureate Education by 1,060.2% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,101,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,888,000 after acquiring an additional 4,661,417 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Laureate Education by 0.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,298,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,139,000 after acquiring an additional 30,808 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,272,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,506,000 after purchasing an additional 105,712 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 458,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Laureate Education during the third quarter valued at $54,859,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.27% of the company’s stock.

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.