Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $33.81 and last traded at $33.56, with a volume of 1983654 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $32.70.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on LAUR shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Laureate Education in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research cut shares of Laureate Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Laureate Education from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Laureate Education from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Laureate Education in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Laureate Education Trading Up 2.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business’s fifty day moving average is $30.35 and its 200 day moving average is $27.25. The stock has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.50 and a beta of 0.60.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) last issued 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 analysts’ expectations of $391.77 million. Laureate Education had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 22.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Laureate Education will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Laureate Education declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 3.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Laureate Education

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. 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 purchased a new stake in Laureate Education in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $54,859,000. Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in Laureate Education by 510.4% during the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 1,214,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,401,000 after buying an additional 1,015,711 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in Laureate Education by 113.8% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,288,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,133,000 after buying an additional 685,998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in Laureate Education by 22.4% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,503,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,669,000 after buying an additional 458,202 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.27% of the company’s stock.

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.