Laureate Education (LAUR) – What Are Analysts Saying About This Stock?

Shares of Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $40.90.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LAUR. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Laureate Education from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Laureate Education from $34.50 to $36.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Barrington Research assumed coverage on shares of Laureate Education in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Laureate Education from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, August 3rd.

Insider Activity at Laureate Education

In other news, Director Ian Snow sold 427,019 shares of Laureate Education stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.26, for a total value of $15,483,708.94. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,646,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,695,708.24. The trade was a 20.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 521,229 shares of company stock valued at $19,103,350 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laureate Education

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its position in shares of Laureate Education by 34.5% during the third quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 3,842,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,629,000 after purchasing an additional 984,671 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 39.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,155,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,243,000 after purchasing an additional 328,609 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. lifted its position in Laureate Education by 1.5% in the third quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. now owns 964,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,821,000 after purchasing an additional 14,717 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Laureate Education by 26.0% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 751,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,179,000 after purchasing an additional 155,200 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Laureate Education by 736.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 726,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,316,000 after purchasing an additional 639,726 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.27% of the company’s stock.

Laureate Education Stock Down 5.3%

Shares of Laureate Education stock opened at $33.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $37.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.59. Laureate Education has a 12-month low of $24.98 and a 12-month high of $40.92.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. Laureate Education had a return on equity of 26.41% and a net margin of 20.28%. The company had revenue of $485.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $480.16 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Laureate Education will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Laureate Education Company Profile

Laureate Education, Inc is a higher education company that operates a network of universities and other learning institutions. Its institutions provide undergraduate and graduate degree programs, professional education, and online and hybrid learning options across fields such as business, health sciences, engineering, technology, and the social sciences.

The company currently serves students primarily in Mexico and Peru. Its Mexican institutions include Universidad del Valle de México (UVM) and Universidad Tecnológica de México (UNITEC), while its Peruvian institutions include Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC) and Universidad Privada del Norte (UPN).