Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $30.6667.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on LAUR shares. 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. UBS Group raised their price target on Laureate Education from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Laureate Education from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research downgraded Laureate Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Laureate Education in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laureate Education

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAUR. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new stake in Laureate Education during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 328.6% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares during the period. Francis Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Laureate Education in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $102,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Laureate Education by 26.2% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Laureate Education by 41.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 1,356 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.27% of the company’s stock.

Laureate Education Stock Performance

Shares of LAUR opened at $29.98 on Tuesday. Laureate Education has a 1 year low of $17.82 and a 1 year high of $32.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.82.

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

Laureate Education declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 3.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Laureate Education Company Profile

Laureate Education, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, offers higher education programs and services to students through a network of universities and higher education institutions. The company provides a range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the areas of business and management, medicine and health sciences, and engineering and information technology through campus-based, online, and hybrid programs.